Hybrid Theory
by Wingless Night
Summary: COMPLETED! When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form. With the Kitsune gone, and him unrecognizable – people are nice. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again? SasuNaru
1. Papercut

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?   
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter One: Papercut  
  
**It had started out as every other day had started out for Uzumaki Naruto's entire life. He would wake up, yawn and look out the window, admiring the way the clouds wafted lazily across the sky for a few minutes before actually getting up. He would then make his way out to the kitchen area of his apartment and get out a box of Fruit Loops before pouring himself a bowl and tiredly eating eat whilst he woke up. After that, he would take a shower and put on his BRIGHT orange jumpsuit. Stretching out the kinks in his muscles, he was finally ready to start the day.   
  
Naruto jumped out of the door, grin in place on his tanned face. His bright blue eyes were squinted in the harsh sunlight as he made his way to the bright red bridge that he met the rest of his team at.  
  
He was there first, which was strange. Shrugging it off, he found himself a relatively comfortable spot on the bank of the river, waiting for the rest of Team Seven to make an appearance. After a half an hour of waiting, he wondered whether or not they were coming and was starting to become worried. Something wasn't right. His senses were on alert, trying to figure out what was happening here.   
  
**Why does it feel like night today?   
Something in here's not right today  
Why am I so uptight today?   
Paranoia's all I got left  
**  
When five shuriken came sailing towards him, Naruto easily dodged them. He whirled, looking at the forest that was a few meters off of the river. The shuriken had come from within the trees that stared at him. He just didn't know exactly where.   
  
An old man limped out of the forest. He wore long, billowing, black robes. Naruto was wary of his presence, but figured that the man was just a normal old geezer.   
  
"Oi! Jii-san, what are you doing out here?" he called.   
  
The old man turned towards him. He squinted for a moment before pulling out large bifocals, which magnified his brown eyes to a hundred times their normal size.   
  
"Who's there?" he asked. His voice was worn out and raspy.   
  
"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service, Jii-san!" the blonde answered. If Sasuke and the others weren't showing up, Naruto wondered why he should stay here.   
  
"Ah, Naruto-kun, could you come and help an old man," the man said.  
  
Naruto nodded and made his way over to the man. Before he got there, however, several shadows appeared around him. One kneed him in the ribcage whilst another grabbed his armed. A third kicked Naruto repeatedly in the stomach whilst Naruto struggled to get free of the man's grasp.   
  
"Now, now, Naruto-kun," the old man said. He was looking more and more evil every time Naruto looked at him and the blonde wasn't entirely sure why. He struggled violently, trying anything to get free. Another shinobi in the group punched the boy in the gut. Whoever was holding him let him go.   
  
The boy fell to the ground, but before he could get up, two men had pinned him down by his wrists and ankles.   
  
"GET OFF OF ME!" Naruto yelled.   
  
The old man had stepped forward. He lifted the boy's shirt, so that the seal on his stomach was in clear view.   
  
"Not until the Kyubi no Kitsune is in our possession," the old man said. Naruto looked at him with a shocked expression on his face.   
  
**I don't know what stressed me first  
Or how the pressure was fed / but  
I know just what it feels like  
To have a voice in the back of my head  
**  
"How the fuck do you plan on doing that?" he yelled.   
  
The man didn't answer. He was performing complex seals with his hands above a weird casket that had several different strange markings on it. Before Naruto could ask his question again, the man had complete the seals and had brought both of his hands on the blonde's stomach.   
  
A searing pain filled the young boy as he felt the seal on his stomach unleashed. He thrashed violently, trying to break free and get away from all of this pain. A white light, lined with red and blue began to form at the boy's stomach and his head was exploding with fire. He couldn't keep his eyes focused and began to see double. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice that he had only heard once or twice in his life. The voice of the Demon Fox.  
  
**It's like a face that I hold inside  
A face that awakes when I close my eyes  
A face watches every time I lie  
A face that laughs every time I fall  
(And watches everything)   
**  
Are you just going to let them take me, brat?the voice growled. Naruto could hear the pain that it was feeling. As unconsciousness fell, he found himself in front of the sealed gate, although the entire image was becoming fuzzy and blurry.   
  
"Is there anything else I can do?" Naruto spat. "It's not like I wanted to be with you to begin with, but there's nothing I can do. I tried to fight, but there were more of them than I could handle!"  
  
So that's it, then, huh?Kyubi said. She seemed kind of sad. _((Kyuubi-chan note: The Kyubi is female in this fic. I don't know why… maybe y'all'll understand in later chapters.))  
_  
"Gomen ne, Kyubi," Naruto murmured. He felt as though he was losing his best friend, though he didn't know why. He didn't have any friends – but Kyubi had always been there for him. She had always dried his tears when he was smaller, even though he didn't realize that she did.   
  
I suppose its all rightKyubi told him. She walked through the bars of the cage, as it had become dissipated enough not to be able to hold her in. Leaning down, she gave Naruto a careful lick on his forehead. If you chose to follow me, you'll be able to feel whether I am near or not. No one else will – but you will.And then she was gone.   
  
Naruto curled up in the darkness that remained and looked at his hand. There was something on it. Water.   
  
Was Kyubi crying?   
  
**So I know that when it's time to sink or swim  
That the face inside is hearing me / right beneath my skin  
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back  
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head  
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within  
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin**  
  
As soon as the group had the fox sealed within the casket, they left the unconscious boy where he was. They didn't care if he was breathing or not, just as long as the fox demon remained unharmed, they really didn't care.   
  
_(((In Another Place)))_  
  
"Ne… Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked her sensei as they sat at the bridge. "Where's Naruto?"  
  
"If I knew that, he would be here, not wherever he is," Kakashi replied dryly. He closed his eyes, trying to sense the boy's chakra. It was faint – but not in a distance way. It was more of a life-or-death faint.   
  
Something's wrong, he thought to himself as he sat on the top of the bridge, like he normally did. The blonde never missed training. He had come a few times when he was sick and then had to be carried home when he fainted twenty minutes later, but he had come.   
  
The fact that he had not come worried Kakashi greatly, although he didn't show it.   
  
"Sasuke," he murmured the name of the stoic boy in a demanding tone. The said boy looked up at his teacher, his expression unreadable. Kakashi stared back through his one eye. "Go check Naruto's apartment and be back here in ten minutes."  
  
Sasuke nodded, not saying a word as he went off to search for his rival in the apartment his rival owned.   
  
When he got there, he knew immediately that the boy wasn't going to be there. However, he still entered the open door and checked around the entire house. As he had originally guessed, there was no Naruto here.   
  
He was on his way back to the bridge in order to report his findings – or lack there of – when he heard a groan to his right. It was low, almost inaudible, but Sasuke still followed it. In a clearing, not too far away from the bridge, he saw Naruto, unconscious and lying on his back. The boy's lips were blue and his skin was cold. Sasuke listened for a pulse and a heartbeat and was surprisingly relieved to find that he could hear both. They were faint – but they showed the boy was still alive.   
  
Loading his rival onto his back, Sasuke made his way quickly to the bridge, to forewarn Kakashi and Sakura and then he would head to the hospital.   
  
**I know I've got a face in me  
points out all the mistakes to me  
You've got a face on the inside too and  
Your paranoia's probably worse  
I don't know what set me off first but I know what I can't stand  
**  
When he arrived at the bridge, Kakashi and Sakura looked at him and the fainted boy with surprise.   
  
"Sasuke… what happened to him?" Kakashi asked, noticing the dead look in Naruto's face.   
  
"I don't know… I'm gonna take him to the hospital."  
  
"Allow me to do that."  
  
Sasuke nodded as he handed the orange-clad boy to the jounin. With a faint POOF, both disappeared.   
  
"Come on, Sakura," Sasuke said. He didn't want Sakura to get attacked as well. She followed him as he sprinted towards the hospital.   
  
When they got to Konoha Hospital, they found that that was not where Kakashi had transported the boy at all. Sasuke gave an uncharacteristic yell of frustration and punched a wall – repeatedly. Sakura tried to stop him but he didn't listen and she couldn't pull him away from the wall without him turning and punching a different one.   
  
It took three doctors, Sakura, two nurses and six security shinobi in order to finally get Sasuke out of the hospital. He was also told that he would have to pay for the numerous holes that had magically appeared in the walls due to his fists.   
  
"Sasuke… kun," Sakura whispered. He didn't hear her.   
  
Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away. Not knowing what else to do, Sakura headed home. She was sure Sasuke could take care of himself and Naruto was being taken care of by Kakashi.   
  
**Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is  
I can't add up to what you can but  
Everybody has a face that they hold inside  
A face that awakes when they close their eyes  
A face watches every time they lie  
A face that laughs every time they fall  
(And watches everything)   
**  
Kakashi had gone straight to the current Hokage – who was none other than the medical genius, Tsunade. She was currently having a discussion with Jiraiya (the SUPER Pervert) when Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, holding the blonde.   
  
"Sorry for interrupting," Kakashi said.   
  
"Never mind that," Jiraiya growled as he stared at his student. "What happened to him?"  
  
"We're not exactly sure," Kakashi answered softly.   
  
Tsunade motioned for the Jounin to lay the boy down in front of her. When he did so, she inspected every part of him from head to toe. She stopped when she noticed something on his stomach.   
  
"The seal?" Kakashi asked.   
  
"Its missing," Tsunade replied softly. "Like it was never there."  
  
"But he still has the whiskers…" Jiraiya mused, noticing the three black lines on either side of the boy's face.   
  
"Maybe he's still linked to the Kitsune in some way…" Tsunade ventured a guess. "Don't take my word for it."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Tsunade finally had an analysis on Naruto's condition. "He'll live, but I want him to stay here for tonight. Go tell your other students not to worry," she told Kakashi.   
  
The Jounin nodded. With one last glance to the now-sleeping genin, he disappeared.  
  
**The sun goes down  
I feel the light betray me  
It's like I'm / paranoid lookin' over my back  
It's like a / whirlwind inside of my head  
It's like I / can't stop what I'm hearing within  
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin  
I feel the light betray me**  
  
_Minna-san, just so you know. The jutsu that the old geezer performed is a new kind of jutsu. It's a forbidden technique because extracting a demon is not the smartest idea in the world. The old geezer and his corporation invented it, with some outside help. But I won't tell you who helped them yet. That's for a point later in the story.  
  
If you didn't figure it out – the bridge that Naruto was at was part of a genjutsu (illusionary technique) so that's why Team Seven could be at the bridge and Naruto wasn't._


	2. One Step Closer

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Two: One Step Closer**  
  
Tsunade looked at Naruto as he slept. Jiraiya had left long ago. It was now nighttime and the only light that was there was the light that filtered through the large window to one side of the chambers onto the sleeping boy. Not being able to stay up any longer, Tsunade fell asleep.   
  
It wasn't until the next day that she noticed something was dreadfully wrong with Naruto. Something so weird and strange that she didn't know how the boy had pulled it off. Or perhaps, I shouldn't be referring to Naruto as a "boy" anymore.   
  
Sometime during the night, with no explination to mirror it… he had become a she!  
  
Sleeping peacefully, Naruto's figure had become slimmer. Although he still was tanned, with wild blonde hair that was a tad longer than it was when he was a boy but not by much, Naruto was definitely different in many ways. One was the noticeable appearance of breasts. His face curved slightly more in a feminine way. The whiskers, for some reason, remained where they were.   
  
Tsunade looked over the girl with worried eyes. How was she supposed to explain something like this when she didn't even know how it happened herself!  
  
Slowly, the cornflower blue eyes opened groggily. "What am I doing here, Tsunade-baba?" she asked as she saw the older woman leaning over here. "Where is here?"  
  
"You're at Hokage Tower, in my chambers," Tsunade explained slowly.   
  
"Perv," Naruto mumbled. That earned him a huge slap on the head from the Hokage.  
  
**I cannot take this anymore  
I'm saying everything I've said before  
All these words they make no sense  
I find bliss in ignorance  
Less I hear the less you'll say  
But you'll find that out anyway  
Just like before...   
**  
An hour later, Tsunade was bringing him – errm… Her – some breakfast so that she didn't lose any nutrition when she heard a loud scream. Nearly dropping the food she was holding, she rushed into her chambers, hoping Naruto was all right.   
  
She entered to find Naruto looking into a mirror, his mouth dropped in shock, eyes wide and skin pale.   
  
"What the fuck is this?" she yelled. She gripped her breasts, as though to make sure they were real. "Why the fuck am I a girl?"  
  
Tsunade looked at the poor confused child. "I don't know," she told Naruto. "But gripping your boobs like that isn't healthy."  
  
Naruto blushed and dropped her hands to her side. Tsunade let out a small chuckle, which Naruto glowered at her for.   
  
"Oh, come on, Naruto-kun," she teased. "Look at you – just think of it as a prank."  
  
"Pranks have time limits!" Naruto snapped back. "I should know!"  
  
"Ah, yes, you used to be the king of pranks."  
  
"USED TO BE? I STILL AM!" Naruto screamed back.   
  
"You can't very well be 'king' if your female," Tsunade said calmly as she set up the breakfast. "Now, come and eat and we'll decide how to continue with this… misfortune."  
  
Naruto just glowered, but took a seat anyway.   
  
**Everything you say to me  
Takes me one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
I need a little room to breathe  
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break**  
  
"All right," Tsunade said. "We're going to have to get you some new clothes, a new name, a new lineage and basically a new everything."  
  
"Why?" Naruto asked. She looked at Tsunade with a glare in her eyes. "Why do I have to change just because my body decided it wanted a fucking gender change."  
  
"Fine. You don't have to change. But I wouldn't want to be you showing Sakura-chan your new pair of breasts," Tsunade said, drinking her tea casually.   
  
Naruto flushed. "F-fine," she stammered. "I'll change. But I don't have any money, so getting new shit is going to be hard." She didn't look Tsunade in the eye, so she didn't see the mischievous glance that the Hokage was currently sending her way.   
  
"Oh, don't worry about that," the Hokage told her soothingly. "I'll pay for everything."  
  
Naruto looked back at the highest nin in the village. And she suddenly felt afraid.   
  
Very afraid.   
  
**I find the answers aren't so clear  
Wish I could find a way to disappear  
All these thoughts they make no sense  
I find bliss in ignorance  
Nothing seems to go away  
Over and over again  
Just like before...**   
  
Jiraiya had come by an hour after Naruto had agreed in order to sort things out with the boy… girl. After he had had his laugh about Naruto's predicament and asked him three times to strip for "research purposes" on the latest of his line of pervert books (and each time getting beaten up by Tsunade), he agreed to help the poor girl.   
  
"We could pretend that Naruto here is my granddaughter or something," he said.   
  
"We don't look anything alike," Naruto snapped back. "It would be more realistic is Tsunade-baba was my grams."  
  
"I don't look old enough to be ANYONE'S grandmother!" Tsunade yelled and beat Naruto on the head with her fists.   
  
"But you are," both Jiraiya and Naruto said in unison.   
  
That earned them both loud SLAPs to their already abused cheeks. Naruto rubbed his cheek where Tsunade had hit him. "Owww… fine I'll be Ero-sennin's granddaughter, jeez," Naruto growled. "Can I leave now? I was going to train with Sasuke this morning."  
  
"Baka!" Tsunade told him, rapping her knuckles on his skull. "Naruto was going to train with Sasuke this morning, but he was sent off on a mission with Jiraiya."  
  
"Does this mean I have to leave the village?" Jiraiya complained.   
  
"Yes. But don't worry," Tsunade told him. "Its Perverts Special in the next village over. I heard the whorehouses had discounts this month."  
  
"When do I leave?" was Jiraiya's response. This earned him a punch from both Tsunade and Naruto.   
  
"Also, we need to sort out what your name will be," Tsunade said.   
  
"I know!" Naruto beamed. "I'll be Naruko!"  
  
"Moron, anyone would know it was you just from the name alone!"  
  
"What about Kurai?" Jiraiya said.   
  
"It's a pretty name," Tsunade agreed. "What do you think, Naruto?"  
  
"I like it," was the girl's reply. "Where'd you learn it?"  
  
"It's the demon child's name in Angel Sanctuary."  
  
Tsunade and Naruto didn't even both looking at Jiraiya as they both punched him. Grabbing onto his sleeves, the two females hauled him out of the window, wondering if he had the sense to learn how to fly. Not caring, Tsunade closed the window so that the hermit pervert wouldn't be able to get back in.   
  
"All right, now for clothes!" Tsunade looked absolutely estatic.  
  
And once again, Naruto was very afraid of the glint in the woman's eye.  
  
**Everything you say to me  
Takes me one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
I need a little room to breathe  
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
shut up when I'm talking to you  
shut up when I'm talking to you  
I'm about to break  
**

Tsunade had fun dressing Naruto up. More fun than she should have had. The newly-named Kurai just sat there and let her do whatever to his new body. Besides, who was Naruto to ruin the old hag's fun.   
  
In the end, Naruto found herself dressed in a tight dark purple turtleneck shirt that accented her upper body figure. The turtle neck was pulled up, over her nose, to hide the annoying whisker marks. Black baggy pants fell over army style sandals that wrapped half-way up the girl's shins. She wore arm protectors around her forearms and her wild blonde locks stuck out at odd angles over her leaf forehead protector. (The most uncomfortable part about being a girl, as Naruto soon found out, was the bra. He was allowed to wear his boxers under the pants but Tsunade insisted on him having a bra.)  
  
"You look pretty damn sexy, if I do say so myself," Tsunade smiled as she looked at her masterpiece.   
  
Naruto's blush could be faintly seen over the top of the turtleneck.   
  
All of the sudden, Kakashi appeared in the chambers the two girls were in.   
  
Just as he said, "Where's Naruto?" the stranger girl blurted out, "Kakashi-sensei!"  
  
Tsunade just laughed. She put her arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Kakashi, this is Naruto."  
  
Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, but when we woke up this morning, Naruto the boy had become Naruto the girl."  
  
Naruto stayed silent throughout this entire exchange. She found herself very interested in the wall.   
  
After a moment, Kakashi had regained himself enough to speak. "Naruto became a she?" he asked dumbly. Slowly Tsunade nodded.   
  
Then Kakashi burst out laughing. It was a very strange sight for Naruto to witness, considering he had never seen it before.  
  
"So what story did you make up for this prank?" Kakashi asked, once he had gotten himself under control.   
  
"Well," Tsunade said. "This is Kurai. She's the granddaughter of Jiraiya. While Uzumaki Naruto is away training with Jiraiya, she will be temporarily assigned to Team Seven, where she will be under your command. I'll take care of all the nessecities like clothing, but you will have to help train her."  
  
Tsunade grinned, an evil conniving grin that she usually only reserved for rigged bets.   
  
"So, Kakashi-sensei," she said. "Please take your 'new' student and introduce her to her teammates."  
  
Naruto couldn't help throwing the Hokage a death glare as he was escorted out of the tower.   
  
**Everything you say to me  
Takes me one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
I need a little room to breathe  
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
I need a little room to breathe  
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge  
And I'm about to break  
shut up when I'm talking to you  
shut up when I'm talking to you  
I'm about to break  
**  
_So, what did you think? I know that I rushed things a little bit here and there, but what can I say? It's a hard topic when you aren't at the fun parts. Don't worry for all you SasuNaru fans. There will be lots of SasuNaruSasu here. ((evil grin)) just wait and see.   
  
Oh yeah… don't forget to review! _


	3. With You

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Three: With You**  
  
Kakashi led Naruto through the city. Naruto looked around. As always, he was a little self-conscious around the market place. People had always found things to throw at him around here. When nothing happened, he looked shyly at the villagers. They didn't even notice he was there. The few that did smiled and waved at him, shouting a cheery "good morning." Naruto's jaw nearly dropped open in surprise.   
  
Why were the villagers being so nice to him?  
  
Then it hit him.   
  
They weren't being nice to him.  
  
They were being nice to the stranger girl that happened to BE him.   
  
Sighing, he found himself walking closer to Kakashi. He hoped that the older nin wouldn't notice, though he was sure that he would. Whether Kakashi noticed that Naruto moved closer or not will forever be a mystery because the silver-haired Jounin didn't do anything to acknowledge it.   
  
He arrived at the bride late, as usual. Sakura jumped up and yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!"   
  
Sasuke looked over at Kakashi. "I dropped by Naruto's apartment this morning to look for him, he wasn't there, obviously." His coal-black eyes stared hard at Kakashi. "Where is Naruto?"  
  
Naruto, seeing the look on Sasuke's face, unconsciously hid behind Kakashi, like a little girl hiding behind her mother's skirts when she was afraid or shy. Kakashi chuckled at this, which made Naruto poke him in the spine.  
  
"Naruto's fine," Kakashi assured the boy. "He and Jiraiya went off training somewhere. For now, I'd like to introduce you to your temporary teammate."  
  
He stepped aside, leaving Naruto in full view. For some reason, the boy-turned-girl felt shy in the presence of his teammates. He shook his head to rid himself of this feeling and smiled brightly.   
  
"Konnichiwa!" she greeted. "I'm Shiozu Kurai. You all might know my grandfather, Jiraiya-sama. He dropped me off at this village before leaving with Naruto-kun for training. Tsunade-sama was kind enough to offer to let me train here with this team."  
  
Sakura and Sasuke nodded, though Sasuke looked a little suspicious. To him, the entire scenario was just too perfect.   
  
"How old are you?" Sakura asked, bouncing. It felt good to have another female on the team for once. Sometimes being the only girl wasn't as fun as it would seem.   
  
"Um… sixteen," Naruto/Kurai replied. "You?"  
  
"Sasuke and I are both sixteen as well."  
  
Naruto looked at the happy girl. She wouldn't be this happy if it were Naruto here, he thought but quickly shook off the doubts.   
  
Sasuke walked up to her. "Why do you wear your turtleneck like that?" he asked.   
  
Naruto grinned, getting more into character as he went along. Even though he didn't look it – Naruto was a good actor. Putting his finger out in front of Sasuke, he wagged it back and forth with each syllable. "Se-cer-ret," he told the stoic boy.   
  
Sasuke glared.  
  
**I woke up in a dream today  
To the cold of the static and put my cold feet on the floor  
Forgot all about yesterday  
Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore  
A little taste of hypocrisy  
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake slow to react  
Even though you're so close to me  
You're still so distant  
And I can't bring you back  
**  
"All right, today we're gonna pair up and train, and then switch partners," Kakashi was explaining. "I, of course, will not be participating. Sakura, Kurai, I want you two to fight first."  
  
"Hai," the two girls chorused.   
  
Sakura stepped up, already in a fighting stance. Her mind had reminded her a few seconds before, when she saw Sasuke talking to Kurai, what exactly it meant to have another girl on the team.   
  
A rival.   
  
And Haruno Sakura was going to prove to this Shiozu Kurai that Sasuke was hers!  
  
Kurai stepped up. She held two kunai in each of her hands. It was fun to duel Sakura and this time, he was actually allowed to duel Sakura. Usually Kakashi-sensei fought Sakura because he didn't trust Naruto or Sasuke to not kill the pink-haired girl. It was weird. Naruto couldn't think about it because a shuriken just flew passed his head, almost killing him if not for his instinctive leaning to the left.   
  
Sakura charged at him, kicking and punching. Kurai decided that she wouldn't fight back and instead dodged the entire time. Not one hit landed on her sleek body.   
  
It wasn't that Sakura was a bad fighter, it was just that Naruto found out how graceful being in this body was. He caught himself lost in the art of dancing – which was basically all of his dodges. Instead of looking like an idiot, which was how he normally looked as he got out of the way of attacks, Naruto felt like a lake – smooth, flexible and lithe. He grinned happily, his eyes becoming half moons as he dodged the attacks. There was one thing that she noticed, being in the smaller, slimmer body but with the same muscles.   
  
Kurai was a lot faster than Naruto ever was. Her speed could probably rival Sasuke's or Neji's – but not Lee's.   
  
Maybe with some training, I could be as fast as Lee, the girl wondered as she leaned into a back handspring, dodging Sakura's fist.   
  
Kakashi only chuckled from where he stood. He found it highly amusing that Naruto was getting used to his feminine body.   
  
After Sakura had worn herself out when Kurai finally attacked. She darted in and just put her index finger inbetween Sakura's eyes.   
  
All three spectators looked at Kurai/Naruto in confusion.   
  
"Got you," the girl said with another wide grin.   
  
Sakura sat down, looking up at Kurai. "How are you that fast?" she wanted to know.   
  
Thinking up an excuse that wasn't how she had answered Sasuke earlier, Sakura kneeled in front of Sakura, her arm resting on one knee. "I've lived with a pervert for half my life. Whenever he got caught peeping at the woman's bathhouse, both of us had to run for our lives," she explained.   
  
It took most of Kakashi's self-control not to burst out laughing once again.  
  
**It's true the way I feel  
Was promised by your face  
The sound of your voice  
Painted on my memories  
Even if you're not with me  
I'm with you  
**  
After a short break, in which Naruto just zoned out as Sakura was trying to get Sasuke to go out with her (yet again) and Kakashi was reading his perverted books (yet again), Kurai got to face down with Sasuke.   
  
"Don't go easy on me because I'm a girl!" the blonde growled. She stood, perfectly casual.   
  
"I wouldn't," Sasuke replied.   
  
Both stared at each other, neither moving a muscle. This was the kind of fight that could be decided in one blow, if they could just find an opening. Both began to glow slightly from their chakra. Naruto found himself surrounded by a blue aura whilst Sasuke was surrounded by a dark red.   
  
Red…  
  
Why was Naruto thinking about that color?  
  
Foxfur.  
  
Kyubi!  
  
Grasping her head, the girl fell to the ground, shaking slightly. Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi were surprised at this. The feeling of chakra disappeared from the air. Kakashi quickly ordered Sasuke and Sakura to train whilst he took Naruto several feet away.   
  
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.   
  
"She's gone, she's gone!" Naruto yelled. "I wasn't strong enough to protect her. She's gone. Where is she? Where is she?"  
  
"Who are you talking about, Kurai?" Kakashi used the pseudonym just in case someone was listening.   
  
"Her. The one who's always been there for me." Kurai sank to her knees again, moving back and forth, tracing circles in the dirt at her feet.   
  
"Why isn't she here anymore?" the girl asked. "Why did they take her away from me? Couldn't they see I was happy?"  
  
Kakashi crouched by the blonde. "Who are you talking about?" he asked in a low voice. "Does 'she' have a name?"  
  
"Kyubi. Her name was Kyubi. Well, that's the name everyone else called her by," the blonde's big blue eyes looked up at Kakashi. He could see so many emotions swimming through them like fish in the ocean.   
  
"Kyubi?" he asked, startled. "Why would you want the Kyubi back?"  
  
"Because she was my nee-chan."  
  
**You, now I see, keeping everything inside  
with you  
You, Now I see, Even when I close my eyes**  
  
"Is she okay?" Sakura wondered as she watched Kakashi and Kurai. "Why would she be all shaken up like that?"  
  
"Hell should I know," Sasuke replied gruffly. Something about Kurai struck him as familiar. The blue chakra – and those blue eyes.   
  
They reminded him so much of someone else.  
  
They reminded him of the one he actually felt something for. Anger, hate, love, friendship, Sasuke didn't know what it was called anymore. But he and Naruto had a strange relationship, to say the least.   
  
Why did that new girl remind him so much of Naruto?  
  
It couldn't be. Naruto was out training with Jiraiya?  
  
But why would the blonde boy be training right after a near-death experience. Sasuke couldn't shake that too easily from his head.   
  
If something was seriously wrong with Naruto, then Kakashi would have taken care of it, right? He tried to assure himself, but he wasn't getting very far.   
  
Why did that dobe make him feel so many things like this?   
  
It made him want to scream. But no, he was too composed for stupid things like that.   
  
He looked again at the new girl, narrowing his eyes.   
  
She was too much alike.   
  
Although she was much more polite than the blonde he was used to, she still had something in her that reminded him of Naruto.   
  
But he didn't know what it was.   
  
It couldn't be her fighting style. She was too liquidy to be the klutz known as Naruto. It couldn't be her mannerisms. She was definitely too nice.  
  
So what exactly reminded him so much about the blonde that he felt as though he were going insane by it?  
  
What was it?  
  
Why couldn't he figure it out?  
  
Why?  
  
Sasuke slammed his fist into a nearby tree, leaning against the plant a moment later. It was one of the few times that he showed any type of emotion and Sakura was startled by it.   
  
"Are you all right, Sasuke-kun?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to startle the raven-haired boy.   
  
Sasuke grunted an affirmative. Sakura sighed.   
  
Just when would he open up to her?  
  
**I hit you and you hit me back  
We fall to the floor the rest of the day stands still  
Fine line between this and that  
When things go wrong I pretend the past isn't real  
I'm trapped in this memory  
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake slow to react  
So even though you're close to me  
You're still so distant  
And I can't bring you back  
**  
Kakashi looked at Kurai. Obviously, the boy-turned-girl was having a few issues with whatever had made him like this – and somehow it seemed to be connected with the Kyubi no Kitsune.   
  
"Kurai… what happened yesterday morning?" he asked softly.   
  
The blonde looked up at him again, with the same blue eyes as before. Only this time, the emotion wasn't there. They showed walls of ice, built right behind the irises to keep people from seeing too far into Naruto's soul.   
  
"It started like every other day," Kurai murmured softly. "I got up and I came to the bridge. Nobody was there." He paused for a moment. "So I sat on the banks of the river, deciding to wait for everyone. Even though I was alone, it wasn't the first time. I was sure that Sasuke or Sakura would be coming along soon." His eyes and voice were dead as he spoke. Kakashi couldn't help but flinch at the tone. It didn't sound like Naruto – or Kurai for that matter. It sounded like a zombie. Like Zabuza or something.   
  
"Some shuriken came out at me from the woods. I dodged them pretty easily," Kurai continued. "Then this old man limped out of the trees. He asked me if I could help him get to town. I agreed. I walked over to him. Before I got there, these men came out of the forest. There were more than ten of them. I tried to fight them, but one of them grabbed my arms and held me back so I couldn't do anything. Then they pinned my down so I couldn't run and the old man did some strange seals." Another pause, this one slightly longer than the last. The cornflower blue eyes that were usually smiling at the word just looked off into space, remembering the day before with a strange type of horror. He felt as though they had ripped out his heart, stomped on it and then gave it back to him.   
  
He just knew that the only thing to ever care about his existence was gone. It made him feel weak. Vulnerable. He didn't even realize that he had stopped talking until Kakashi spoke.   
  
"And then?"  
  
Startled, the blonde looked at his teacher for a second before averting his gaze elsewhere. "And then he put his hands over the seal. Something happened. It hurt… I felt like they were ripping out my insides. I fainted. And then I saw her."  
  
"Kyubi?" Kakashi prompted gently.   
  
Kurai nodded. "She was really blurry, like a bad signal on a television or something. Just without the static. There wasn't any static. She came through the bars of the seal – its like a cage on her. I sometimes pity her. She's too pretty to be caged, but she came out and she hugged me, telling me that if I wanted to, I would be able to find her. That the choice was mine."  
  
He looked at his hand, where the teardrop had fallen.   
  
"She was crying," he remembered. "She didn't want to leave."  
  
Kakashi seemed surprised at this new information. In his mind, he never imagined the Kyubi to have feelings. In fact, he always thought of the dreaded Kitsune as a male, but according to Naruto, he was a she. He couldn't help smiling as he looked at Naruto. He was a she, indeed.   
  
**It's true the way I feel  
Was promised by your face  
The sound of your voice  
Painted on my memories  
Even if you're not with me  
I'm with you**  
  
When Kakashi and Kurai walked back over, Sakura immediately wanted to know if everything was okay. Even though she still viewed Kurai as a rival, she wanted to know if her temp teammate was hurt.   
  
"I'm fine," Kurai assured her teammates. "I just got a bit… nostalgic."   
  
Sasuke broke in before Sakura had a chance to answer. "Isn't nostalgia a warm feeling?" he asked softly.   
  
"Not all the time," Kurai countered.   
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"You wanna fight?"  
  
"I've been waiting for a half an hour for you to clear up your problems."  
  
Kurai lunged at Sasuke. She swung her kunai, only to have it blocked by his. Twisting away, she kicked out at Sasuke. He grabbed her foot and tried to flip her over, but her fist was sailing towards his head. She looked at the boy. Her other fist came straight in. He blocked it with his forearm.   
  
The blonde girl found herself hanging upside down. Instead of swinging away from Sasuke's body, she titled her body weight towards him. He fell off balance, flying forward, but still keeping his grip on her limbs. She tucked her head in and rolled, ending out on top. As they rolled, Sasuke had to let go of her limbs in order to protect his head. She flipped a kunai out and held it against Sasuke's throat.   
  
"I win," she murmured softly. "So what's my prize?"  
  
"What do you mean, your prize?" Sasuke sneered.  
  
"Oh come off it, asshole," Kurai replied without removing the knife. Kakashi watched with mild interest whilst Sakura stared in awe. "When someone wins in something, they get a prize, so what's my prize?"  
  
"You didn't defeat me," Sasuke insisted.   
  
"Then why am I sitting on top of you with a knife to your throat," Kurai asked, leaning closer to Sasuke's face.   
  
Sasuke looked at the girl, sweating. He never liked being in close proximity with anyone, and this was kind of scaring him.  
  
"All right, what do you want?" he sneered.   
  
Kurai smiled, an evil smile that Sasuke swore could only be done by the current Hokage. Apparently, it might be something that all girls could do. He sighed, waiting to hear what he would have to do.   
  
"Hmm…" Kurai said with the evil smile still on her face. "There's a festival in town that I wanted to see… so…" The idea struck her so suddenly that her grin widened and became more natural, despite her attempts to keep it evil. "You, me, date, tomorrow!" she exclaimed happily.   
  
Sasuke blanched.   
  
Just what had he gotten himself into?  
  
**You, now I see, keeping everything inside  
with you  
You, Now I see, Even when I close my eyes  
With you  
You, now I see, keeping everything inside  
with you  
You, Now I see, Even when I close my eyes**  
  
Kurai let the boy get up. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Sakura asked. She was still in shock that someone, let alone someone female, could be Sasuke.   
  
Naruto was in shock himself. After all he had won – two, not just one, but two – fights today and one against his rival. His face fell as he realized that he couldn't bring this up against his rival – ever again.   
  
"I challenge you to a rematch," Sasuke growled as he stepped up behind the blonde.   
  
Kurai/Naruto threw a fox-like grin over her shoulder. "Can't you wait until after I eat? I'm starving," she told him. Sasuke glowered at her.   
  
"All right, you three, training is over," Kakashi said.   
  
Kurai made her way quickly down the street, unthinkingly heading towards her apartment that wasn't supposed to be hers right now. Without her knowledge, Sasuke followed her.   
  
When she opened the door to the apartment and was about to step in, she heard a shout call her name.   
  
"Oy! What are you doing going into Naruto's apartment?" Sasuke asked, appearing right beside her.   
  
The blonde smirked, glad that he had already thought up a suitable lie for this situation. "Since Naruto-kun is training with my pervert grandfather, and I have no place to stay while I'm here, he offered to lend me his apartment. Besides, I should be long gone by the time he comes back." A wicked thought came to Naruto's head and he smirked at what he was going to say next.   
  
"Oh, really?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.  
  
"Jeez, why are you so protective over Naruto-kun's place," Kurai asked. "Is he your boyfriend or something?" Naruto was able to effectively hide his blush behind the turtleneck that covered his nose. Sasuke wasn't that lucky. Naruto managed to glimpse a faint pink tinge the stoic boy's cheeks before Sasuke turned around swiftly with a "humph" and made his way towards his own home.  
  
Slipping inside, Naruto closed the door behind him, slowly peeling the turtleneck off of his face.   
  
He was definitely going to need a better way to hide his whiskers.   
  
**No, no matter how far we've come  
I can't wait to see tomorrow  
No, no matter how far we've come I  
I can't wait to see tomorrow**  
  
Sakura looked after the two in front of her. Sasuke was following the new girl, Kurai home, for some reason. Sakura, having nothing better to do, decided to accompany them a good ten feet behind them. She wanted to know why Sasuke was headed in this direction, when his house was the other way. Shrugging, her mind focused on what the new girl had said.   
  
_There's a festival in town that I wanted to see… so…You, me, date, tomorrow!  
_  
How could the girl be so bold? She had only just met Sasuke? Sakura felt her mind reel as she tried to figure these things out. Sighing in an exasperated way, she finally gave up on following Sasuke and Kurai and headed home. Unlike Sasuke, she wasn't suspicious of the girl.   
  
Just jealous.   
  
Maybe, for Sasuke-kun's safety against other girls, I should follow them tomorrow, she thought. I can get Rock Lee to accompany me, so that it will seem like we're on a date and I'm not stalking him. This would be a good time for Naruto to be around, because then I could use him instead of fuzzy eyebrows.   
  
She shuddered. Those eyebrows really gave her the creeps.   
  
**With you  
You, now I see, keeping everything inside  
with you  
You, Now I see, Even when I close my eyes  
With you  
You, now I see, keeping everything inside  
with you  
You, Now I see, Even when I close my eyes**  
  
_ So what do you all think about the third chapter? I actually liked it. For those of you wondering how Naruto could beat both Sasuke and Sakura in one day, call it dumb luck. I just needed her to win against Sasuke so that I could have the next chapter. I always wanted to do something like the next chapter. So yeah, fun fun.   
  
It might seem strange to some people how I've set up saying "Naruto" and "Kurai". I mostly refer to Naruto as a guy when the narration is following his thoughts and actions the most. Almost like his point of view. I use the female form when its most Sasuke's or Sakura's or Kakashi's or just someone else in general's point of view or whatever. Yeah, just to clear up that little matter.   
  
Lastly, Kurai may have seemed to drastically change during one part of this chapter. She was on the verge of tears or whatever and then all of the sudden, she chipper. Think of Naruto and his mask. That's basically what I'm bringing out in this chapter – how much Naruto cares for the Kyubi and how much s/he has to hide behind a mask. Don't worry about the Kyubi for any of those who are like me and actually care for that demon. She's fine. We'll be seeing her again in a chapter or two.   
  
Kyuubi-chan_


	4. Points of Authority

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Four: Points of Authori**ty  
  
The next morning greeted Naruto with a bright blue sky, lazy white clouds and a bright yellow sun. It was the perfect day for a festival. Even if his date was going to be Sasuke of all people.   
  
_Now, perhaps this narrator failed to mention something before, but I'll do so now. Naruto is gay. He learned this when he was fourteen and found himself with a crush on Neji of all people. He had quickly moved on from that crush, but Naruto really didn't care about gender. People stared at him anyway, why not give them a good reason to stare? That was what he always though. All right, back to the story.   
_  
Although Naruto was sure that his date would be insanely boring, he still promised himself that he would try to have some kind of fun. After all, what else was there to do at a festival? He wasn't going to mope because he had coerced the sexiest guy he knew into going to a Konoha festival with his screwed up feminine body. No sirree.   
  
He had figured that… just for today, he was not going to wear a piece of cloth to cover his whiskers. He had gotten Tsunade, that old hag, to help him with makeup. That had to be one of the worst experiences of his life.   
  
In fact, Naruto would rather face Jiraiya in his current form than have to go through _THAT_ again.  
  
He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. The old hag had somehow forced him into an orange and red kimono that looked like fire. Naruto was pleased to note that the obi, which was yellow, had dark red foxes on it. He wasn't wearing his forehead protector, so his hair flopped naturally in front of his left eye.   
  
Tsunade had managed to put coverup on the whisker marks so that they appeared to vanish, making him look like a normal human being. Looking out of his cornflower blue eyes, Naruto sighed. He leaned onto the mirror, staring into nothingness.  
  
"What in God's fucking name made me have a crush on Sasuke of all people," he growled to himself. Standing slowly, he picked up his sandals at the door and, without bothering to put them on yet, walked towards where he had earlier agreed to meet Sasuke.   
  
**Forfeit the game / Before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame / Puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face / You can't run the race  
The pace is too fast / You just won't last  
**  
_Where is she?_ Sasuke wondered. He glanced at his watch. _CHANCE! If she doesn't come within the next ten minutes, I'm off. I waited and la-de-fucking-da to her. It'd be her fault, of course.   
_  
Sasuke was so caught up in his mind ranting session that he didn't notice the small girl approach him until she had removed a folded fan from her sleeve and jabbed him hard in the arm.   
  
"Jeez, Sasuke-chan," Kurai said, a broad grin on her face. She latched onto his arm. "You trying to hide from me?"  
  
Sasuke looked away. "No," came his sullen reply.   
  
Kurai just shook her head. Opening the fan, she held it in front of her face. It had the picture of a fox on it. Slowly, she posed in front of the boy. "So, how do I look?" she asked, adding a slight twirl to the affects.   
  
Sasuke's blunt answer came a moment later, without any signs of hesitation. "Like a girl," he muttered. This earned him a smack on the head with the fan, which hurt a lot, as the fan was lined with lead as protection for the bearer. He rubbed the sore spot, blinking tears out of his eyes as the lead hit his skull.  
  
"Mou, you're no fun."  
  
"Then why'd you insist on the date?" Sasuke asked.   
  
Kurai just grinned. Just like yesterday, she put her index finger in front of Sasuke's face. Waving it slowly with each syllable, she said in a happy voice, "Se-cer-ret!"  
  
"What's with you and secrets?" he asked.   
  
"What's with _you_ and secrets?" she countered.   
  
To this, the emotionless boy had no reply. Kurai grinned. She folded her fan and shoved it into her obi. "Come on, boy, let's have some fun!" she said, dragging him by his arm towards the heart of the festival.   
  
**You love the way I look at you  
While taking pleasure in the awful things you put me through  
You take away if I give in  
My life  
My pride is broken**  
  
Behind Sasuke and Kurai was none other than the devious Haruno Sakura and her date for the day, Rock Lee. Although Sakura was dressed in the tradition kimono – Rock Lee had refused to budge from his green beast costume that apparently helped his training according to Gai, but we don't trust Gai so let's just leave it at this for now.  
  
"Grrr… that little bitch," Sakura growled to herself.   
  
"Sakura-san?" Lee asked, worried at Sakura's glare. _I hope it's not directed at me, I hope it's not directed at me_, was the mantra in his head at the moment.   
  
Finally hearing her 'date' for the day, after he was repeatedly calling her name, Sakura turned with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Hai, Lee-kun?" she asked.  
  
"Are you angry at me, for some reason?" Lee asked, unable to hold it back.   
  
"Iie, of course not, Lee-kun," Sakura said in what she perceived to be a sweet enough voice. "It's just, I'm a little worried about Sasuke-kun."  
  
"Why?"  
  
The two were now sitting at an ice cream parlor, eating ice cream (duh) and talking whilst Sakura kept a watchful eye on Sasuke.   
  
"It's just that… there's this new girl in our group… and she just seems to be… using him," Sakura muttered. "As though there's some ulterior motive. She was even able to beat Sasuke-kun."  
  
Lee flashed her one of his infamous grins. "Don't worry about it!" he told her, giving her a thumbs up sign. "Everything will sort itself out in the end."  
  
Sakura just nodded, wondering why the boy was being so… nice? To her.   
  
**You like to think you're never wrong  
(You live what you've learned)   
You have to act like you're someone  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want someone to hurt like you  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want to share what you've been through  
(You live what you've learned)**

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, can you catch goldfish?" Kurai asked, as she pulled him over to the stand.   
  
Sasuke shrugged indifferently.   
  
"Aww, come on, Sasuke-kun," Kurai grumbled. "This is no fun with you! And I even got the Hokage to help me dress up so I'd look nice!" Her voice dropped and a look of sadness passed over her eyes. Sasuke felt his chest tighten unexpectedly. "Pfft… this is the last date I'm going on, if this is what all guys are like!"   
  
"How do you know Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. Tsunade was a nice person – generally – but only a few people were on close terms with her. And this sounded like close terms.   
  
"Hellooooo," Kurai said. She rapped her knuckles on Sasuke's forehead. "Weren't you listening yesterday? My gramps is Jiraiya… how could I NOT know Tsunade."  
  
"Hn," was Sasuke's reply.   
  
"AARGH!" the blonde girl screamed in frustration.   
  
"Aww… Uchiha-san," someone said. It was the vender of the goldfish game. "You're making your girlfriend angry."  
  
Sasuke blushed. "She's not my girlfriend," he grunted.   
  
"Bah… like I would ever chose you for a boyfriend!" Kurai yelled. "BAKA!"   
  
She turned around and tried to storm off. Her foot, unfortunately, caught on the hem of her kimono. Too late she realized she was losing her balance. Giving out a startled yelp, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact with the ground.   
  
But she never reached the ground.   
  
After a few moments, she opened her eyes. Sasuke had caught her before she had fallen. Blushing furiously, Kurai pulled out her fan. She pushed off Sasuke, trying to walk around him.   
  
"Uhh… thanks," she said, hiding her face behind her fan. _Dear God… if you exist, kill me now because of this humiliation, Amen_, she silently prayed in her head.   
  
"Are you all right?" Sasuke found himself asking without really knowing the reason why.   
  
"I'm fine, asshole," Kurai hissed back.   
  
She tried to get around Sasuke only to find him blocking her. Moving to his other side, she tried to pass, but he blocked her again.   
  
"What are you doing?" she asked, exasperated.   
  
"I don't know," Sasuke replied softly. Kurai shook her head.   
  
"Look, I get the fact that you don't want to be here, so just leave," Kurai accused in an angry voice (as most accusations are said in angry voices, I suppose this one was no different. In a quieter voice, that Sasuke had to strain his ears to hear, she muttered, "I just wanted to have one day of fun, but I guess I'm not entitled to that, am I?"  
  
Sighing to herself, she waved goodbye to Sasuke as she made her way to the pond that was for catching fireflies at night. She sat on the bridge that spanned the tiny water source, looking into the waters, deep in thought.   
  
"Jeez, why's he always have a stick up his ass or something," She wondered, leaning back and looking up at the sky. "It fucking pisses me off." She sighed to herself. "Aa, where's Kyubi when I need her?" she wondered to the skies.   
  
"Who's Kyubi?" a voice asked. Startled, Kurai jumped, nearly falling into the waters. Sasuke caught her just in time. "So… who's Kyubi?"  
  
"An old friend of mine," Kurai said. "She's in a different village."  
  
It wasn't entirely a lie, but it wasn't entirely the truth. Sasuke walked off the bridge and Kurai soon joined him, sitting next to him. She didn't care what state her kimono would be in at the end of this, she would probably have to burn it whenever she became Naruto again anyway.   
  
"What were you talking about before?" Sasuke wanted to know.   
  
"When, apparently, I've been talking a lot today," Kurai said bitterly. "How the hell should I remember one measly line?"  
  
"The one about how you just wanted one day of happiness."  
  
Kurai blushed. "Oh… well… see…" he stuttered, trying to figure out what to say. Might as well go for a strange version of the truth. Sighing, she looked at Sasuke, a gentle smile gracing her features. "Both of my parents died when I was little… so I've been with Jiraiya a lot. Well, all that I do with him is train, run or pick him out of dumpsters. It's not exactly fun. I figured that… well… since I was going to be here for a while, that maybe I could make friends for once… and then I could have fun… like I see all of the other kids have." She looked a little lost and Sasuke found himself staring at her calm beauty. Her eyes showed so much pain and sadness, but there was acceptance in that pain. It was as though the blonde had decided that she wouldn't let the past bring her down too much. "I'm sorry. You barely know me, and I barely know you… I shouldn't be talking about my troubles."  
  
Kurai grimaced as she realized how true her last sentence had been. Even though Naruto and Sasuke had been teammates for years, they barely knew anything about each other, except for how the other fights.   
  
"It's… it's okay…" Sasuke murmured softly, as though if he raised his voice even a little bit, he would find out that this was all just one fucked up dream. "Y'know, we have something in common, then."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"My parents died a long time ago too."  
  
**You love the things I say I'll do  
The way I'll hurt myself again just to get back at you  
You take away when I give in / my life  
My pride is broken   
Forfeit the game / Before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame / Puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face / You can't run the race  
The pace is too fast / You just won't last**  
  
Sakura looked around frantically for any search of her beloved Sasuke. She was still with Lee, who was as exuberant as ever, but she didn't partake in his joyful attitude. Something told her that Sasuke was in trouble. She didn't think it was physical, either.   
  
It was just a hunch, but Sakura really wanted to find Sasuke and make sure that he was okay.   
  
_((Back where Kurai and Sasuke are))_  
  
"So," Sasuke asked after another ten minutes of silence. "Do you really want a goldfish?" He asked with the tiniest of smiles on his face.   
  
Kurai's eyes widened in surprise. "You… smiled…" she said, shocked.   
  
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "What of it?" he had returned to his normal stoic tone and expression.  
  
"You should do it more often. You look cute when you smile."  
  
Sasuke stood up, blushing just a little bit. He reached down and helped Kurai to her feet. "Arigato," the blonde murmured as they made there way arm-in-arm to the goldfish stand. _((KAWAII!))  
_  
"Isn't that nice," the man said. "You two got through yer lover's spat."  
  
This made both teenagers blush. "I-it wasn't anything like that," Kurai insisted. The man just laughed, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. It was teasing them, in a gently way.   
  
"By the way, young lady," the man said. "I haven't seen you around here. What's your name."  
  
"Shiozu Kurai," the blonde said, bowing.   
  
"I'm Fisherman Joe," he replied, bowing back. Kurai couldn't help giggling at the name.   
  
"Allright, Sasuke-chan!" Kurai yelled. "Catch that one." She pointed to a rather large goldfish with black fins. "It's pretty."  
  
"Fine," Sasuke replied. He kneeled down and picked up one of the flimsy paper net thingys _(Kyuubi-chan doesn't know what they're called.)_ and concentrated on the fish that the blonde had pointed out. He got it on the paper net and was lifting it out when… the net broke.   
  
"Dammit!" he yelled. He paid for another net. His eyes gleamed angrily at the fish, who seemed completely unaware that the boy was staring at it.   
  
**You like to think you're never wrong  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want to act like you're someone  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want someone to hurt like you  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want to share what you've been through  
(You live what you've learned)**   
  
Forty-seven paper nets and three temper tantrums later, along with a lot of cheering by a certain blonde, Sasuke finally caught the damn fish. Fisherman Joe put it in a plastic bag, looking at what had been affectionately dubbed "Sharingan" or "Fishy-chan" for short. Sasuke slumped against a tree, tired after his fish catching adventures.   
  
Kurai walked shyly over to him, holding Fishy-chan in her hand. She seemed to be trying to decide whether she should do something or not. Slowly, hesitantly, Kurai lifted herself up the extra three inches and softly kissed Sasuke on the mouth.   
  
"Arigatou!" she said happily. She could feel tears welling in her eyes. But unlike normal these were tears of happiness. Sasuke looked at her in shock, unable to speak. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke-chan." Then she disappeared.  
  
"Hai…" Sasuke murmured softly. He touched his lips with his fingers for a moment, still feeling the phantom touch of Kurai's lips against his. He didn't realize he was blushing bright red as he walked off.   
  
It wasn't like it was his first kiss. His stomach dropped as he remember THAT particular memory. Of course it couldn't be his first kiss. His first kiss was with a guy. His first kiss had been with _**Naruto**_.   
  
_((Where Sakura and Lee are))  
_  
Sakura growled when she saw the light kiss that her temporary teammate gave her long-time love. Inner Sakura was having a field day exploding. Saying goodbye to Lee, she walked home, thinking up many different revenges that she could get back on the poor, unsuspecting blonde.   
  
**You like to think you're never wrong / forfeit the game  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want to act like you're someone / forfeit the game  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want someone to hurt like you / forfeit the game  
(You live what you've learned)   
You want to share what you've been through / forfeit the game  
(You live what you've learned)**  
  
_Well, minna-san, what do you think? Kyubi will appear in the next chapter or so. Also, I finally figured out why Naruto turns into a girl, which will be explained soon. And its actually plausible ((is very proud of herself))  
  
WHEEEEE Four chapters out.   
  
I'm leaving for camp on Sunday, so I hope to have the next seven chapters out by then. If I work my ass off, I think I'll be able to. If not… you're gonna have to wait three weeks before I can update again. Sorry minna-san, its just the way things go, but I'm trying to update. Which is why you've had four chapters in two days.   
  
I'm most definitely on a roll here. And the chapters from here on out are going to be much easier now that I'm finished introducing Kurai. Now the cast has to cope with her.  
  
And don't worry, there will be some NaruSasuNaru goodness on the way. And I don't mean f/m… I mean shonen ai. So stay tuned everybody! _


	5. Crawling

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Five: Crawling**  
  
Later that night, Naruto had changed out of the kimono and into a tanktop and shorts. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.   
  
"I kissed Sasuke," he murmured, surprised at his boldness before he had to remind himself, "No… Kurai kissed Sasuke. There's a difference. I'm not so much of an idiot kissing Sasuke as a girl. If I kissed Sasuke when I return to normal… then he'd just hate me."  
  
He sighed, flipping over to lay on his side.   
  
He couldn't sleep.   
  
He didn't know why.   
  
But it didn't have to do with kisses or Sasuke or even that strange girl that had looked like Sakura who had been glaring at him the entire day.   
  
It was Kyubi.   
  
He didn't know why the fox was on his mind. In fact it kind of scared him. He felt his forehead burn and he felt as though he were being transported to a different place. He closed his eyes and saw an entirely different scene on the other side.   
  
_He was pacing around a cage. Back and forth, back and forth. The cage was small. He could only managed about three steps each way. His nine tails whipped behind him like a red banner. Red eyes stared around him.   
  
The place that the cage was located was murky, damp. There was no warmth. That never bothered the Kitsune. After all, being a fire demon and having fur kind of protected one from the cold. The first thing that he noticed was that he couldn't seem to breathe properly.   
  
Sitting on his haunches, he scratched at his neck. Something tight and metal was clasp around it. A collar of sorts. He growled, deep in his throat. This place was hell. There was no other name for it. Curling up, the nine tailed fox wrapped the said nine tails around him for extra warmth as he shivered in this damp cage. Just as he finally was able to get comfortable, he felt something poking him in his thin ribs. Opening one tired red eye, he saw one of the jailors poking him with a long stick.   
  
Snapping his jaws, he managed to grab the stick, and promptly entered a tug-a-war with the jailer. Another jailer came up and started to make hand seals. Naruto didn't notice. He just wanted to break the damn stick.   
  
Something flew at him from the second man and he felt pain sear up his side, almost as though he were being burned. Too weak to fight off the pain, he sank into unconsciousness._   
  
Naruto woke up. No more did he worry about sleep. He had to talk to Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi was the only one that knew that Kyubi was his nee-chan.   
  
**crawling in my skin  
these wounds they will not heal  
fear is how I fall  
confusing what is real**  
  
He pulled on a jacket and not caring about shoes (once again) he ran out the door. Shivering in the cold night, he made his way quickly towards Kakashi's house. He knocked on the wooden door, hopping from one foot to the other. Did Kakashi really need concrete steps? Didn't he know how much cold the concrete attracted? It was torture on his feet, but Naruto pushed it away.   
  
"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, KAKASHI-PERVERT!" he yelled. He didn't care who heard him. He didn't care if he looked like a fool.   
  
Kakashi, mumbling something about being disturbed at a really good part of his book opened the door. He was surprised to find a half-dressed Naruto on his doorstep.   
  
"Kurai… what are you doing here?" he asked, only mildly interested.   
  
"It's nee-chan!" Naruto said urgently. "They're torturing her! We have to go and find her! I have to go after nee-chan. She'd do the same for me."  
  
Nee-chan? Kakashi questioned slowly before he remembered. The Kyubi.   
  
"Do you know where she is?"  
  
"No, but they're hurting her! They're starving her! She'll die if we don't find her soon!" Naruto yelled.   
  
Slowly Kakashi ushered Naruto inside his house. Naruto was only half-surprised to see Iruka-sensei there.   
  
"Now, sit down and tell Iruka and me what happened," the Jounin told him in a calm voice.   
  
It didn't seem to help calm Naruto, who was hysterical. Iruka looked at the young blonde girl, confused. "Kakashi, is it all right if I'm here for this… I don't think I know this girl."  
  
Kakashi nearly slapped his forehead but had the self-restraint not to. Putting a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder he murmured in the schoolteacher's ear, "Iruka… she's Naruto."  
  
"WHAT!" Iruka yelled. He turned back to the girl, who was sobbing into her hands, curled up on the floor by the door. He stepped closer. "Naruto?" he asked in a calm voice.   
  
"It hurts, Iruka-sensei," Naruto yelped, jumping on his former teacher. Iruka would've fallen backwards with the voice if not for Kakashi standing right there and supporting him.   
  
**there's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
consuming/confusing  
this lack of self-control I fear is never ending  
controlling/I can't seem**  
  
"What do you mean 'it hurts', Naruto?" Kakashi asked after the boy had calmed down considerably. She was still in Iruka's arms. Iruka was sitting on the couch, the boy-girl snuggling protectively up to his chest. Just like old times, he thought wryly.   
  
"My neck… my back… my ribs…" Naruto muttered before falling asleep. His tantrum and running around in the dead of night with barely anything on had caught up with him as he passed out in Iruka's arms.   
  
Slowly, trying not to wake the boy-girl, his two teachers inspected the places where he had mentioned. They gasped at what they saw. Around his neck was a red mark, as though something had tried to strangle him. His ribs had numerous bruises, as though something, like a stick, was jammed into them several times. His back had the top layer of skin burned off. It looked like someone had seriously tried to roast the kid over an open fire.   
  
Getting up carefully, Iruka tucked a pillow under the boy's head in his stead. He grabbed a blanket from the bedroom and put it over Naruto. He looked at the boy-girl with a worried expression on his face.   
  
He signaled Kakashi to follow him to the kitchen area, where they could keep an eye on the sleeping child, but still be out of hearing range.   
  
"Care to explain who 'nee-chan' is?" Iruka asked. He knew that Kakashi had to know, otherwise Naruto wouldn't be here. He would be somewhere else. Or he would have called 'nee-chan' by her real name.   
  
"Did you know that the Kyubi no Kitsune was female?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly.   
  
"Stop trying to change the subject."  
  
"Actually love, I'm not changing the subject this time. Kyubi no Kitsune is female. She's Naruto's nee-chan."  
  
**to find myself again  
my walls are closing in  
(without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)   
I've felt this way before  
so insecure**  
  
Iruka looked at him, eyes wide. "You've gotta be joking!" he said.   
  
"I'm not," Kakashi assured him.  
  
"You have to be!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because… because…"  
  
Kakashi looked at Iruka. "Apparently the Kyubi cried when it was taken out of Naruto. That's when he was changed into his current state. No one, not even the Hokage knows why."  
  
Iruka sat there for a moment… then it hit him. He actually fell out of his chair because of it because it hit him with a large frying pan.   
  
Sitting on the floor, Iruka had a look of dawned comprehension on his face. "I get it," he whispered.  
  
Kakashi sat next to him. "Do tell, do tell," he said.   
  
"Everything in this world is composed of two forces: Yin and Yang, or Female and Male, right?"  
  
"Sure, hun, whatever you say… now what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Look at the people we know. Tsunade has traits of both a woman and her gambling is her male traits. Jiraiya is a hell of a fighter, but he also writes romance novels."  
  
Kakashi snorted. "They're not JUST romance novels," he muttered darkly. Iruka smiled and gave him a quick peck on his cheek before continuing his explanation.  
  
"Sakura is normally in her female traits, but you saw Inner Sakura at the Chuunin exams."  
  
"What about Sasuke?"  
  
"Sasuke's just plain weird. He's a table. I don't know him that well – but I think that Naruto's female half has found Sasuke's softer side."  
  
"So how does this relate to the Kyubi?"  
  
"Well… Naruto's always been masculine, he's had to be. He's been on his own for his entire life, save for a few times when you or I would take care of him, but they wouldn't last. The female side of Naruto is the Kyuubi. She takes care of the emotions of Naruto and herself whilst Naruto takes care of the physique part."  
  
"I still don't get it," Kakashi admitted sullenly.   
  
"Hopeless," Iruka murmured. "In otherwords, when the Kyubi no Kitsune was removed, Naruto was only left with half of himself. The male half, so his body, chakra and subconscious molded themselves to make the balance work. If the balance wasn't there – he would die."  
  
"So that's why he looked dead when Sasuke found him…" Kakashi murmured finally catching on. He stood up. "You stay and watch Kurai… err… Naruto… gah, whatever his or her name is. I need to go speak with the Hokage."  
  
"Are you sure you can explain this?"  
  
Kakashi grinned, his visible eye becoming a half moon. "No problem!" he said and poofed out. Iruka sighed and went into the other room to watch Naruto.   
  
**crawling in my skin  
these wounds they will not heal  
fear is how I fall  
confusing what is real**  
  
Sasuke walked around, still slightly in a daze from when Kurai kissed him. He was passing Naruto's apartment when the girl he had found himself thinking about a lot ran in the opposite direction at top speed. Sasuke blushed when he saw that she was wearing short gym shorts, a black tank top, no bra and a jacket.   
  
A bright orange jacket.   
  
A familiar bright orange jacket.   
  
An insanely familiar bright orange jacket.   
  
What the fuck is she doing with Naruto's jacket? Sasuke wondered and used that as an excuse to follow her to Kakashi's house.   
  
When he got there, he hid in the bushes outside of the window. He didn't know how much shock he was in for that night but it started off when he heard his former teacher's soft voice.  
  
"Kakashi, is it all right if I'm here for this… I don't think I know this girl."  
  
"Iruka… she's Naruto."  
  
That made Sasuke's heart stop in his throat. He burrowed closer to the windowledge, listening with all of his might. He didn't even care to hide his chakra. He just wanted to learn more about this strange occurrence that had happened to his teammate.   
  
When the conversation turned towards the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Sasuke was really confused. Naruto couldn't be the Kyubi… right? After that he stood up and wondered once again in a daze. Why had that dobe never told them he was the bloody Fox? Why?  
  
Then again, the more Sasuke thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. The whiskers… the fact that everyone hated him. And that blonde idiot claimed that the murderous Demon Fox was a good creature? He seriously needed to get his head checked!  
  
Now knowing where he was going, Sasuke was surprised to find himself at Naruto's apartment. He walked up the stairs that led to the apartment and noticed the door wide open.   
  
"Baka…" he grumbled to himself. He wondered whether or not he should enter. Judging by the fact that Naruto had fallen asleep at Kakashi's place meant that he was staying there the entire night. Sasuke looked at his watch.   
  
It was already passed midnight and his house was on the other side of town. He stifled a yawn and walked into his rival's apartment.   
  
"Well, if he has any complaints… I'll say he left his door open," Sasuke grunted to himself as he curled up on the couch. Falling asleep almost instantly, he didn't notice, two hours later, that a blonde teenager had indeed come home that night.   
  
**discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me  
distracting/reacting  
against my will I stand beside my own reflection  
it's haunting how I can't seem...   
**  
The next morning, Sasuke awoke to the smells of breakfast. It felt like he was eight years old again. Way back when his parents…  
  
Stop that train of thought.   
  
Anyway… who was cooking. Sasuke was too comfortable to really want to open his eyes but he did so anyway. He had a thick blanket over him and a pillow under his head. He couldn't remember using either when he had crashed here the night before – or earlier that morning, whichever people preferred to call it.   
  
"You up?" a perky female voice called to him.   
  
Shimatta, I've been caught! Sasuke thought. He hit himself for thinking something so stupid but that didn't change the fact that the statement was true. He got up and walked to the kitchen where the female Naruto was cooking, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a bra. Sasuke blushed when he noticed how nice her figure was but quickly reminded himself that this was N-A-R-U-T-O, not someone that he could find himself falling in love with.  
  
"Naruto," Sasuke started.  
  
"No," the girl interrupted, swinging her spatula in Sasuke's face in a very menacing manner. "I'm not your boyfriend."  
  
"Then explain your whiskers, or that conversation I overheard last night when you were at Kakashi's," Sasuke blurted.   
  
Kurai, who was in the middle of putting pancakes from the pan onto plates, suddenly dropped the pan. It landed on her foot. With a loud "chikuso!" she began hopping around, grabbing a piece of paper and using it as a fan.   
  
Sasuke shook his head. "That'll just make it worse, dobe," he muttered.   
  
"I'm not a dobe, you idiot," the girl returned before bouncing in the relative direction of the bathroom. Unfortunately, being the klutz she was off the battlefield, she ended in a heap in front of the bathroom.   
  
"Ow…" she groaned. "That's gonna leave a mark." As she began to get up, she winced again. "Or maybe three…"  
  
Sasuke couldn't help chuckling. "Need help?" he asked softly, appearing behind her.   
  
"Nope, I'm fine… can you just clean up that mess in the kitchen. I don't think I want to go near that pot ever again. Damn thing almost burned my foot off," the blonde grumbles as she disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water and loud curses echoed through the small apartment as Sasuke did as he was told.   
  
After all, he had crashed here without permission. The least he could do was be a little nice to his host.  
  
**to find myself again  
my walls are closing in  
(without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)   
I've felt this way before  
so insecure**  
  
After they got through the entire episode with Naruto trying to cool down his left foot, Sasuke finally ran to the nearest pharmacy-type stand and bought a first aid kit, since Naruto didn't have one. He had returned shortly after, to find Naruto sitting on a chair, with her foot on the table. It looked a little swollen, but putting ice on the burn could make it worse. Slowly, he opened the first aid kit and began to properly dress the wound.   
  
"Thanks," the girl mumbled when he was finished. She grinned as she began to hop, with the help of the countertop, over to where she had the plates. "There's still enough pancakes to split, if you want some."  
  
Sasuke nodded eagerly. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.   
  
The two got into a friendly banter, with no mention of anything that involved Naruto's visit to Kakashi's house or his true identity.   
  
**crawling in my skin  
these wounds they will not heal  
fear is how I fall  
confusing what is real**   
  
Kakashi seemed to be having a hard time trying to get the Gondaime to agree to let Team Seven try and find Kyuubi.  
  
"The boy's going to die if we don't find that fox!" Kakashi finally yelled.   
  
Tsunade looked at him strangely. "What proof?" she asked.   
  
"Didn't you see him when he first came in here?" Kakashi asked.   
  
"Yes, but he's healthy now."  
  
"He had a mysterious gender change after the Kyuubi was removed. How is that healthy?"  
  
To this Tsunade had no reply.   
  
"I'm not sending genins out to be slaughtered by a demon."  
  
"As long as Naruto's with us… we won't be slaughtered."  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"Because that boy… girl… dammit… that Naruto calls the Kyubi 'nee-chan', not demon, not Kyubi, not damned fox. He calls her older sister. And she responds to that, thinking of him as her younger brother."  
  
Tsunade just looked at him in shock.  
  
**there's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface  
consuming/confusing what is real  
this lack of self-control I fear is never ending  
controlling/confusing what is real**  
  
_This is Kyuubi-chan, so whaddya think, minna? I don't know about this chapter. It seems weird to me. But whatever. We'll be addressing Sakura's revenge later. MWA HAA HAA_


	6. Runaway

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Six: Runaway**  
  
"You can't be serious," Tsunade finally spoke in a low voice. Kakashi looked back at her. For once, the bored look was gone from his eye, replaced but a look of pure determination.   
  
"Unfortunately, I am…" Kakashi replied. "I fear we may have all misjudged the Kitsune."  
  
Tsunade just stared at him in disbelief. Finally, she sighed, looking at Kakashi with tired eyes. Becoming Hokage was finally taking its toll on her. _I still don't understand how old man Sarutobi was able to do it. Stupid old geezer.   
_  
She looked at Kakashi. "Fine," she said in a weary voice. "But if one of your genin dies at the hand of that Kitsune, you better not come apologizing to me! Nobody will know of this mission except for Team Seven and myself, understood?"  
  
Kakashi nodded and smiled. "Thank you," he murmured softly as he poofed away.   
  
He dropped by Naruto's apartment for the girl and was surprised to see Sasuke there. Neither genin was saying anything to the other and it looked as though they had another spat about something or another. Kakashi looked at them  
  
The two were truly hopeless.   
  
"You two… gather your stuff for an overnight trip. Meet me at the bridge in an hour. Be ready for a long journey."  
  
The blonde looked at him. "What are we doing?" she asked, her voice still carrying whatever anger she had against the stoic boy who was near her.   
  
"We're chasing down Naruto's older sister. And we're bringing her back home."  
  
Kurai's eyes lit up at the prospect. She promptly kicked both Kakashi and Sasuke out of her house and began to get ready for the journey. She paused for a moment in the bathroom, looking into the mirror. She inspected the spot on her forehead where Kyubi-neechan had licked her. It didn't look any different. Rubbing it out of what had become mere habit, she realized that it felt different from normal skin. It was soft – like fur. Kurai grinned at her reflection and bounced off, wanting to get her neechan back as soon as she could.   
  
She arrived at the bridge twenty minutes early. Knowing that Kakashi-sensei would be late and the others wouldn't be arriving soon, Kurai decided that she should practice using her chakra. She looked at the river. Focusing her chakra to her feet like Ebisu-sensei and Ero-sennin had taught her, she stepped out onto the river.   
  
The wind tore about her clothes. Grinning to herself, she was glad of what she wore today. A loose-fitting black t-shirt and baggy black pants encircled her being. Knowing that they were off to get her neechan back, Kurai hadn't even bothered with a facemask of any kind. According to Kakashi, it was just Team Seven that was doing this mission.   
  
She didn't care that her whiskers gave her away at the moment, she just wanted to find her older sister and bring the Kyubi back safely.   
  
_That old seal might've given me hell when I was a kid – but if neechan hadn't been there, I'd most likely be dead – I wouldn't have lasted this long_, she confessed in her mind. It wasn't the first time that thoughts like these – ones of regret, suicide and the like had plagued her.   
  
But it was the first time that she had to endure it without Kyubi there, guiding her away from the wrong path.   
  
Shaking her head, she backflipped a few times, landing perfectly on the churning waters of the river. "Just keep moving, just keep moving," she said in a singsong voice. She knew she was doing a rip off of Finding Nemo, when Dory was singing, but it wasn't like she cared. She needed to clear her head.   
  
She should be happy.   
  
They were going to find Nee-chan.  
  
So why did something in her gut tell her something bad was going to happen soon.  
  
**Graffiti decorations  
Under a sky of dust  
A constant wave of tension  
On top of broken trust  
The lessons that you taught me  
I learn were never true  
Now I find myself in question  
(They point the finger at me again)   
Guilty by association  
(You point the finger at me again)**   
  
Sasuke was the first person to arrive. He still hadn't got a straight answer out fo the blonde girl about whether she was truthfully Uzumaki Naruto or if he was having auditory hallucinations the night before.   
  
"Oy, Kurai-chan," he called, seeing the figure doing some kind of weird dance on the surface of the river.   
  
Kurai hadn't heard him.   
  
Sasuke could only stare at her, mouth open in shock. Every move she made, he saw grace and beauty. In the end, he ended up slapping himself in order to get him out of his stupor. _Focus, Sasuke, focus,_ he told himself in his mind.  
  
It didn't help when Kurai noticed him a second later and ran over, balancing perfectly on the water. Sasuke wondered how she did it, but decided not to press the matter. The blonde stepped onto land, and had the sudden impulse to glomp Sasuke.   
  
So she did.   
  
"SASUKE-CHAN!" she yelled as she jumped on him.   
  
"NANI?" Sasuke yelped, realizing that the boy-turned-girl was hugging him. "G-Get off!"  
  
"Mou… your no fun, Sasuke-chan," Kurai complained, pulling back and grinning.   
  
Sasuke blushed, then quickly tried to hide it. It wasn't quick enough for it to go unnoticed.   
  
"Aww… kawaii!" Kurai said with a big grin. She glomped Sasuke again.   
  
"W-what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, his blush returning in full force. "I told you to get off…"  
  
"You're so cute when you blush! I couldn't help myself!" Kurai answered, hugging him tightly.   
  
A few minutes later and Sasuke finally managed to wiggle out of her grasp. Which was lucky for the both of them, as Sakura was walking towards them a moment later.   
  
"Ohayo Sasuke-kun," she yelled.   
  
"Hn," Sasuke replied in his normally stoic manner.   
  
Kurai grinned. "Ohayo Sakura-chan," she greeted.   
  
"Ohayo, Kurai-chan," Sakura answered automatically.   
  
"Iie… iie…" Kurai said suddenly.   
  
"Nani?" Sasuke and Sakura asked at the same time. Sasuke had an idea what was going on, but he decided to play dumb.   
  
Before Kurai could answer the question, Kakashi poofed in… actually on time, for once.   
  
"Yo!" he said. "Ne… Kurai-chan, have you told them yet? You might as well… considering the mission."  
  
"What is this mission?" Sakura asked.   
  
"We're off to recover the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," Kakashi responded with a smile.   
  
"What makes you think that recovering the Kitsune will be something that we can do?" Sakura wanted to know.   
  
"Simply because we have the Kitsune's former host with us," he explained.   
  
Sakura looked confused. She knew that she wasn't the host and she knew that Sasuke wasn't the host either. Kakashi was too old to be the host. So that left Kurai.   
  
"Kurai-chan?" she asked.   
  
"Hai… in a way…"  
  
"Damatte, Kakashi-sensei, I'll tell them," Kurai interrupted. "It's my duty to tell them, anyway. And I was about to, before you just poofed in out of the blue."  
  
Sakura and Sasuke turned to Kurai, who was standing behind them. Her bangs covered her eyes so no one could tell what she was feeling.   
  
"Fine, fine," Kakashi said. "You can be the one to answer the questions to."  
  
Sasuke and Sakura looked at Kurai suspiciously. Well, Sakura looked suspicious. Sasuke looked knowing.   
  
"What does he mean, Kurai-chan?" Sakura asked. She took a step closer to him.   
  
"That's not my name…" Kurai spoke suddenly. "I'm not a temporary member of Team Seven and I'm not the granddaughter of that old Ero-Sennin. I don't know why this happened to me. I was waiting for you guys to show up a few days ago… when I was attacked. And they took my nee-chan from me. Well… you would all think me insane for calling her my nee-chan, considering she's the Kyubi no Kitsune."  
  
"So what is your name?" Sakura asked… more confused than ever."  
  
"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde replied, finally looking at them. She wouldn't hide behind her feminine body anymore. If she was going to become Hokage one day, she would need to be able to tell the truth about almost everything. She didn't want to hide anymore.  
  
"Uzumaki… Naruto?" Sakura asked. "I don't understand."  
  
Kurai gave her a half-grin that she had seen so many times on Naruto's face. "I don't get it either."  
  
"Lucky for you all, I do understand!" Kakashi said. He jumped down, putting away the newest volume of Icha Icha Paradise.  
  
Kurai jumped on Kakashi. "You… knew? And you didn't tell me!" she growled, looking directly at her teacher's one eye. She was holding his collar, but couldn't reach the ground and so was able to balance on his hips. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Well… I just found out last night… and you were asleep…" Kakashi replied truthfully.   
  
Kurai let him go, bouncing off and landing on her feet. This made Sakura think.   
  
"How can you be Naruto-kun?" she asked. "You're movements are more graceful than his ever were…"  
  
Kurai looked at her with an expression of indifference. "Don't ask me why that happened…" she muttered.   
  
Kakashi merely smiled. "Well, shall we be on our way?"  
  
"What about telling me how this happened?" Kurai growled.   
  
"Well… that's simple. I'll tell you on the way."  
  
Kurai muttered something, but followed Kakashi as he started walking. Sakura and Sasuke (who had, admittingly, been strangely silent throughout this entire thing) followed.   
  
**I wanna run away  
Never say goodbye  
I wanna know the truth  
Instead of wondering why  
I wanna know the answers  
No more lies  
I wanna shut the door  
And open up my mind**  
  
It was nighttime. They had been hiking for the entire day and had covered a good amount of distance. It was Kurai's turn to watch. However, she kept on finding herself distracted by the things she had learned throughout the day.   
  
The reason she had turned female.   
  
The reason that the Kyubi had been stolen from her.   
  
But the most important questions had yet to be answered. She thought over the questions as she looked into the darkness, casually throwing wood on the fire every half hour or so. It was her way of telling time.   
  
_Who were those people?  
  
Why did they want the Kitsune?  
  
Why were they starving her if the Kitsune was supposedly the most powerful at full strength – which is why almost everyone wanted her?  
_  
And then there, of course, were the questions of self-doubt and self-loathing: the questions that had plagued the fox boy-turned-girl ever since she had learned that she was the holder of the Kyubi.  
  
_ Why was it that everyone only saw the Kyubi when they looked at him?  
  
Didn't Uzumaki Naruto count for something?  
  
Why did they take the Kitsune and not give a damn that they were killing the boy by leaving him there?  
  
Why did no one see him?  
  
Was it his fault that the Kitsune was taken?  
  
Was it because he wasn't strong enough?  
_  
_ Why?  
  
Why was it always his fault?_  
  
Kurai gripped her head, trying to shut out the questions but they overtook her. She sat there, rocking back and forth, trying to banish them from her mind. It wasn't working as well as she hoped. She bit her lip, feeling the blood spill into her mouth. She was trying not to cry out. But the questions wouldn't leave her. She sat there, quivering. She didn't know how long it had been until someone tapped her shoulder.   
  
"Dobe?" came Sasuke's voice. Kurai whirled around, immediately putting on the mask she had worn her entire life.   
  
"What is it, teme?" she snapped back.   
  
"Are you all right?" Sasuke asked. The concern in his voice made Kurai think that he was doing this for a joke.  
  
"What do you care?" she growled, making sure that there was some type of distance between her and him.   
  
"I care because you're my teammate, and we're out here because of you!" Sasuke snarled without meaning to.   
  
Kurai jumped to her feet. "So it's all my fault, now isn't it?" she yelled. She didn't care right now who heard her. She just didn't care anymore. Allowing her mask to slip back into place, she grinned in her old way. Sasuke noticed this.   
  
"Dammit, Naruto," he said – for the first time addressing her by her real name. "Don't you get it?"  
  
"Get what, teme?" Kurai shot back.   
  
"Nevermind – just… go to sleep, its my turn for the watch, anyway," Sasuke said softly.   
  
"Whatever," Kurai replied. She walked to her sleeping bag and lay down, falling asleep almost instantly. She almost wished she hadn't.   
  
_ "So… this is the famous Kyubi no Kitsune, is it?" a rough voice asked from outside his cell. Naruto, in the Kyubi's body, looked up. The man's face was hidden. He was dressed in a long black robe and he could see the black hair that came out of the back.   
  
It was the smell of the man that made him think. Where had he smelled this before? The scent was sort of like Sasuke's. Pine, wintry morning where fog still clung to the earth. But it had a burnt edge of it. As though the pine was on fire, chasing away the fog.   
  
It was familiar. Suddenly, the man's hood flew back and Kyubi was staring into the red eyes of the Sharingan. He growled, knowing that this man was an enemy. Hackles raised, he bared his teeth at the man. The man just looked at him and muttered something. Even the Kitsune's sensitive ears didn't pick up on what he was saying.   
  
He just knew it had something to do with the moon.  
  
Suddenly, he was in a different dimension. Everything seemed inverted here. Everything seemed strange.   
  
The man stood before him. Naruto growled at him. He tried to jump at him, only to find himself tied down, unable to move.   
  
"I can kill you several times over and you wouldn't know it had happened," he murmured in a lazy voice.   
  
Naruto only growled at him.  
  
"You seem to have more spirit right now," the man murmured. "Could it be that your connecting with your host? That must mean he is asleep."  
  
All of the sudden, a thousand replicas of the man appeared.   
  
"Who… are you?" the fox growled.   
  
"Uchiha… Uchiha Itachi," he said. "When you wake up… give this message to my little brother."  
  
"Nani…?"  
  
"He'll never be strong enough to defeat me."  
  
And then the torture began. Naruto found himself screaming.   
_  
"NARUTO!" someone yelled his name, making him wake up in a start. He looked up into Sasuke's eyes, seeing the Sharingan whirling in them.   
  
"Wha…?" he asked before falling into a dead faint.  
  
**Paper bags and angry voices  
Under a sky of dust  
Another wave of tension  
Has more than filled me up  
All my talk of taking action  
These words were never true  
Now I find myself in question  
(They point the finger at me again)   
Guilty by association  
(You point the finger at me again)**   
  
When Naruto woke up again, he found himself being carried by Kakashi. He squirmed, not liking the entire idea of being carried. Kakashi let him down. When Naruto tried to walk, he fell forward.   
  
"Bah…" Sasuke said behind him. He was forced into carrying Naruto's baggage. Kakashi picked Naruto up again and continued forward.   
  
"What happened?" he asked.   
  
"I had this dream… I was nee-chan, and there was this man in front of her cage," he began, not really caring who heard him. "The man said he was Uchiha Itachi… or something like that."  
  
This perked Sasuke's ears and he could feel rage boiling inside of him. Kakashi noticed, but Naruto didn't.  
  
"He transported me to this weird place where there were thousands of him… and it was weird. The sky was red. Blood red. I didn't know where we were. But I was happy to see the sky again. Kyubi hasn't seen the sky for a long time. I tried to move… but couldn't. Then he began to stab me with a sword… again and again and again, but I didn't die. I don't know why, but I didn't die. I woke up… he was standing over me. That was the last thing I remember."  
  
Kakashi took a quick glance at Sasuke, seeing the anger beneath the careful mask of indifference. "Just rest, Naruto. That was a special attack of the Sharingan. I've been under it before. Just rest. You'll feel better when you wake up."  
  
Naruto nodded, curling into Kakashi's chest and falling asleep. Kakashi could've swore that when the boy-turned girl fell asleep, he muttered something about a "Fishy-chan."  
  
Looking over at Sasuke once more, he saw Sasuke blush when he heard it.  
  
**I wanna run away  
Never say goodbye  
I wanna know the truth  
Instead of wondering why  
I wanna know the answers  
No more lies  
I wanna shut the door  
And open up my mind**

When Naruto woke up again, he found himself laying on top of his sleeping bag with a wet cloth on his forehead. "Huh?" he asked.   
  
"Oh, you're awake!" Sakura said. "We were worried, especially since Kakashi didn't wake up for days after he felt the attack and neither did Sasuke."  
  
"Hn…?" he asked.   
  
Kakashi had just returned with firewood. "That's because Naruto didn't feel the attack. Kyubi did. Naruto just happened to be there," he said as he walked in. He checked Naruto's health again.   
  
"How long have I been out of it?"  
  
"About a day," Kakashi answered.   
  
"Ahh… okay."  
  
"Rest, Naruto."  
  
"No."  
  
Kakashi and Sakura looked at him. "Why not?"  
  
"I've been resting for a day, why should I sleep more?" Naruto asked. In truth, he was afraid to sleep. Too afraid to sleep in case he encountered dreams again.   
  
"All right," Kakashi said.   
  
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura scolded. "We don't know what's wrong with him, why are you letting him get up?"  
  
"Because… he won't stay down even if I tell him to."  
  
Naruto grinned at this answer. He looked around. "Ne… where's Sasuke-chan?" he asked.   
  
The two shrugged.   
  
"I'm gonna go find him!"  
  
Before they could stop him, he disappeared.  
  
**I'm gonna run away and never say goodbye  
(gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away)   
I'm gonna run away and never wonder why  
(gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away)   
I'm gonna run away and open my mind  
(gonna run away/mind gonna run away gonna run away/mind mind gonna run away mind gonna run away/mind gonna run away gonna run away gonna run away/mind)   
**  
Naruto scouted out the area as he went around. It was the least he could do. He couldn't seem to find Sasuke. The boy had just vanished, but he left all of his supplies back at the campsite, so Naruto knew that he hadn't gone ahead.   
  
He stood there, concentrating on finding the boy's chakra. That was always the best way to locate Sasuke when he didn't want to be found.   
  
His own chakra didn't make a big enough perimeter, so he tried to tap into the Nine-Tails, completely forgetting she wasn't in his stomach anymore. The moment he tried to get her chakra, wave after wave of nausea hit him. He fell forward, making a loud crash (as he had stupidly fallen out of a tree!).   
  
"Itai!" he hissed in pain.  
  
"Naruto?" a voice called. He looked up, and saw Sasuke.   
  
"Found you," he muttered.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, helping Naruto to his feet.  
  
"I wanted to find you… and I did," the boy-turned-girl replied with a grin.   
  
Sasuke blushed again. Naruto looked so happy to have finally done something right, with no mistakes, that Sasuke couldn't find it in his heart to get angry at him.   
  
_ Could Iruka really be right?_ He asked himself, remembering when he had eavesdropped on the adults' conversation.  
  
**I wanna run away  
Never say goodbye  
I wanna know the truth  
Instead of wondering why  
I wanna know the answers  
No more lies  
I wanna shut the door  
And open up my mind**  
  
Sasuke had taken Naruto to the banks of a river that was nearby the campsite so the boy could drink something. Right now, they were just sitting, side by side, and staring into the sunset that was shown to them over the trees.   
  
"Why did you want to find me?" Sasuke finally broke the silence after the sun had set and night had officially fallen.  
  
"Because… I had something to ask you…" Naruto said, blushing furiously.   
  
Sasuke didn't notice, as Naruto wasn't looking at him, he was staring at the water. His fingers drew slow spirals in the dirt beneath his bare feet and he looked embarrassed as he hugged his knees to his chest with one arm.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"What do you think of…" Naruto began. He shook his head, then continued. "Well… of me… both of me…"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Which 'me' do you prefer," Naruto explained. "When I was male… you barely looked twice at me, 'cept for as a rival. You let your guard down around Kurai. It almost makes me want to stay like this. Just to see you smile. Everything I did as Kurai, I'm not regretting it. I had fun." He paused. "I wanted to know what you had thought."  
  
Sasuke blushed, happy that the darkness that had fallen hid it. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Sasuke replied, "I had fun too." His soft voice was husky, almost as though he were trying to hide the emotions that were threatening to spill out. "It was the first time I had fun being my age rather than a ninja." He sighed, touching his lips again, remembering when Naruto had kissed him. "I don't think I have any regrets either."  
  
"You don-" Naruto's words were interrupted when Sasuke lightly put his lips over Naruto's.   
  
**I wanna run away   
and open up my mind   
I wanna run away   
and open up my mind   
I wanna run away   
and open up my mind   
I wanna run away   
and open up my mind**

_I wanted a fluffy scene! I don't know why! Blame my muse if you don't like it! MWA HAA HAA! I had to have some more SasuNaru before Naruto becomes himself again. Its funner that way. So, minna-san, what did y'all think of this chapter?  
  
I should be writing seven later. Damn, I'm tired. Writing takes a lot out of a girl.  
  
Kyuubi-chan_


	7. By Myself

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Seven: By Myself**  
  
The next morning, Sasuke and Naruto were once again not talking to each other, though Kakashi could tell that they were staring at each other when they thought that they other one wasn't looking. Sakura, latched onto Sasuke's arm, noticed this as well.   
  
She felt almost betrayed by the blonde. They were teammates. Also… he had gone out with Sasuke on a date because he had BEATEN Sasuke? How the hell was that even possible? She didn't know. She blamed it on dumb luck _((heehee, just like Kyuubi-chan does!))_ and decided to cling tighter to Sasuke.   
  
This made her wonder a bit. Kurai-chan had gone on a date with Sasuke? Both she and Sasuke knew that Naruto was gay… it wasn't much of a secret in Team Seven. Did this mean that Naruto liked Sasuke now?  
  
She shuddered at the thought.   
  
_Oh well_, she thought to herself. _Sasuke is MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! And I'm going to make SURE that Naruto knows that!  
_  
**What do I do to ignore them behind me?   
Do I follow my instincts blindly?   
Do I hide my pride / from these bad dreams   
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?   
Do I / sit here and try to stand it?   
Or do I / try to catch them red - handed?   
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,   
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?   
Because I can't hold on / when I'm stretched so thin   
I make the right moves but I'm lost within   
I put on my daily façade but then   
I just end up getting hurt again**   
  
Sasuke ignored the ever-clinging Sakura. She was holding more tightly than usual and Sasuke had no clue why. However, his mind was elsewhere.   
  
Why had he kissed Naruto the night before?  
  
**_FLASH BACK!  
_**  
_Sasuke had taken Naruto to the banks of a river that was nearby the campsite so the boy could drink something. Right now, they were just sitting, side by side, and staring into the sunset that was shown to them over the trees.   
  
"Why did you want to find me?" Sasuke finally broke the silence after the sun had set and night had officially fallen.  
  
"Because… I had something to ask you…" Naruto said, blushing furiously.   
  
Sasuke didn't notice, as Naruto wasn't looking at him, he was staring at the water. His fingers drew slow spirals in the dirt beneath his bare feet and he looked embarrassed as he hugged his knees to his chest with one arm.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"What do you think of…" Naruto began. He shook his head, then continued. "Well… of me… both of me…"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Which 'me' do you prefer," Naruto explained. "When I was male… you barely looked twice at me, 'cept for as a rival. You let your guard down around Kurai. It almost makes me want to stay like this. Just to see you smile. Everything I did as Kurai, I'm not regretting it. I had fun." He paused. "I wanted to know what you had thought."  
  
Sasuke blushed, happy that the darkness that had fallen hid it. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Sasuke replied, "I had fun too." His soft voice was husky, almost as though he were trying to hide the emotions that were threatening to spill out. "It was the first time I had fun being my age rather than a ninja." He sighed, touching his lips again, remembering when Naruto had kissed him. "I don't think I have any regrets either."  
  
"You don-" Naruto's words were interrupted when Sasuke lightly put his lips over Naruto's.   
  
A moment later, Sasuke broke his kiss. Naruto seemed stunned, shocked almost. Sasuke smiled.   
  
"Do I really leave you that speechless, dobe?" he asked in a teasing tone.   
  
"Urusai!" Naruto yelled at him, anger flashing through his heavenly blue eyes. "Urusai! Stop playing with my head, teme! Why would you care about me? Why would you kiss me?"  
  
Anger flashed in Sasuke's black eyes. "Because I felt like kissing you, all right?" Sasuke shouted back. "There's nothing more. And while we're on the subject: why did you kiss me at the festival?"  
  
"Because I like you, you fucking asshole," Naruto spat out, accidentally. Before he could continue, he clamped his hands over his mouth, eyes going wide. Without another word, he disappeared, leaving Sasuke behind, head whirling from the conversation.  
_  
**_END FLASHBACK!!_**  
  
_He liked me?_ Sasuke thought as he walked along. _But why me? I don't understand that idiot… I don't think I ever will.   
_  
**by myself [myself]   
I ask why, but in my mind   
I find I can't rely on myself [myself]   
I ask why, but in my mind   
I find I can't rely on myself  
I can't hold on   
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin   
It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on   
To anything watching everything spin   
With thoughts of failure sinking in**

Naruto was just walking along, trying his hardest to sense the chakra of the Kyubi – or the Kyubi herself. He looked around. His forehead itched. Scratching it, he remembered what Kyubi had told him.   
  
**If you chose to follow me, you'll be able to feel whether I am near or not. No one else will – but you will.  
**  
Naruto wondered what Kyubi meant by that. After all, the Kitsune's chakra was well known as being red and evil-like, so how come Naruto was the only one who could find her.   
  
Some things were just too confusing. He sighed, his mind wandering away from his older sister in order to rest on a certain raven-haired boy.   
  
Last night had so many weird things in it that Naruto didn't even know where to begin thinking.   
  
Last night, Sasuke had kissed the boy.   
  
Last night, Naruto had confessed he liked the boy.  
  
Last night, Naruto had told Sasuke he regretted nothing (which included the kiss, of course)  
  
Last night, Sasuke told Naruto that he had regretted nothing.   
  
Naruto wondered if that included the kiss. The boy had acted more like a teenager around Naruto on the day of the festival than Naruto had seen him act around anyone.   
  
He sighed and looked at the sky again.   
  
_No matter what happens from here on out_, he promised,_ I won't forget last night. I won't regret anything I did. I won't regret loving Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
_**If I   
Turn my back I'm defenseless   
And to go blindly seems senseless   
If I hide my pride and let it all go on / then they'll   
Take from me 'till everything is gone   
If I let them go I'll be outdone   
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun   
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer   
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer**   
  
All of the sudden Naruto fell over to his knees, gripping his forehead.   
  
"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled. They had dropped the pseudonym and no matter what, they called him Naruto. He was even dressed as himself, and his breasts were pretty much hidden by the bright orange jacket that he loved.   
  
"Naruto!" Sasuke muttered, looking at the boy. "What's wrong!"  
  
Sakura stayed silent. The minute she let go of Sasuke, in her shock, he ran over to the boy.   
  
Shaking him slightly, he kept asking, "What's wrong?"   
  
Naruto didn't answer. As soon as the feminine body went limp, Sasuke picked him up. Kakashi signaled the boy to a clearing a little ways off the road.   
  
Sasuke went where Kakashi was pointing.   
  
"Sakura, get his pack, and lay out his sleeping bag," Sasuke ordered. Meekly, Sakura did as she was told. Sasuke put the boy on the sleeping bag. He felt the boy shiver and shake and felt his forehead.   
  
Naruto had a fever. He voiced his thoughts and saw Kakashi appear next to him, handing him a folded, damp cloth. Sasuke murmured his thanks and put the cloth on Naruto's forehead.   
  
"What's wrong with him?" he asked Kakashi.   
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Kakashi asked.   
  
"No, or else I wouldn't be asking," Sasuke snapped angrily.  
  
Kakashi chuckled. "He's with the Kyubi right now. He'll wake after he leaves her mind," he said.   
  
**[by myself] [myself]   
I ask why, but in my mind   
I find I can't rely on myself [myself]   
I ask why, but in my mind   
I find I can't rely on myself  
I can't hold on   
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin   
It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on   
To anything watching everything spin   
With thoughts of failure sinking in  
**  
_Kakashi had been right. Naruto was indeed in the other's mind. He listened closely, eyes still closed. He hadn't opened them. Or rather, he couldn't open them. They were swollen from being his with a baseball bat the night before. He shuddered, finally waking up from the stupor he had been in for the entire day. Listening to the movements around the room, he smelled all of the usual scents. All of the sudden, a scent he hadn't smelled since he had been taken from the human body that had been part of him, he snapped open his eyes painfully.   
  
It was true, then.  
  
He had finally come to pay the Kyubi no Kitsune a visit.   
  
The old man who had entrapped him here.   
  
The man noticed his antics. It was hard not to. After all, the fox was growling and snapped his fangs at the man.   
  
"Now, now, Kyubi no Kitsune," he said in his raspy voice. "Calm down."  
  
That only made the Kitsune even more angry. Calm down? How did he expect the fox to calm down after being imprisoned and then having the man that imprisoned him so nearby.   
  
"I can explain."  
  
"You better," the Kyubi growled.   
  
"Ah!" the old man sound perfectly excited. "You can talk!"  
  
"I'm not like you stupid humans," he snarled. "Now tell me!"   
  
"Fine. I had you imprisoned for research reasons if you must know. I want to know as much about you as I possibly can. I am a scholar. My name is Yuminoka Garou."  
  
"Just great, eh?" the fox laughed with no mirth. "Garou means werewolf, does it not?"  
  
"That it does."  
  
"And did you know, wolves and foxes are mortal enemies?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So, where are you hiding Umiaka no Okami?" the Kyubi snarled angrily. He spoke of his most hated enemy.  
  
"Oh, you mean the Sea's Bloody Wolf?" Yuminoka said with a smile.   
  
"Hai."  
  
"You will meet him soon enough."  
  
He signaled to two of his subordinates. Something blue and liquidy whirled towards him. Wrapping around his neck, the two subordinates pulled. When he tried to struggle, he realized that it was just getting tighter around his neck. He growled.   
  
All of the sudden, electric waves were sent through the strings or water, flowing through his body. Naruto/Kyubi felt it go through his entire body. The Kybu howled before it fell, unconscious, burn marks around its neck._   
  
**How do you think / I've lost so much   
I'm so afraid / I'm out of touch   
How do you expect / I will know what to do   
When all I know / Is what you tell me to   
Don't you (know)   
I can't tell you how to make it (go)   
No matter what I do, how hard I (try)   
I can't seem to convince myself (why)   
I'm stuck on the outside**   
  
The three Leaf Nin who were awake heard a loud howl of pain, but it wasn't emanating from Naruto. A moment later, Naruto screamed in pain, seizing up and hissing in pain before he was still again. Sasuke looked at him strangely.   
  
A second later he woke up. Wincing in pain, he sat up. He saw the three looking at him strangely.   
  
"Nani?" he asked. Looking around him, he let out a loud curse before turning to Kakashi. "It happened again, didn't it?"  
  
Kakashi nodded. "Are you all right?"  
  
"My neck hurts again… it burns…" he said.   
  
He unzipped the jacket, revealing not only the collar marks that had been there before, but also new burn marks. Sasuke looked at them.   
  
"Those look like what I had," he muttered aloud.   
  
The others turned to him. "What do you mean?" Naruto asked.   
  
"Remember when we went to the Hidden Falls village?" he asked. Sakura and Naruto nodded. "Neither of you were there when I got captured. It was because of this jutsu which made water into these strong ropes and then electrified you."  
  
"That's what just happened to nee-chan," Naruto said.   
  
"Thought so."  
  
"Naruto," Kakashi unexpected spoke. "A moment ago, we heard a loud howl, could you tell us what happened in your dream, in as much detail as you remember."  
  
Naruto nodded and told them.   
  
**How do you think / I've lost so much   
I'm so afraid / I'm out of touch   
How do you expect / I will know what to do   
When all I know / Is what you tell me to   
Don't you (know)   
I can't tell you how to make it (go)   
No matter what I do, how hard I (try)   
I can't seem to convince myself (why)   
I'm stuck on the outside**   
  
Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke listened while Naruto spoke. He was blushing throughout the entire thing, but that could have been because Sasuke was dressing his wound, not because of what happened to his older sister.   
  
"What were the names of the other demon and that man again?" Kakashi asked.   
  
Naruto thought for a moment. "The demon was Umiaka no Okami," Naruto explained. "I think the guy – he was Yuminaka Gatou – called him the Sea's Bloody Wolf, or something like that."  
  
"Then it is worse than I feared," Kakashi said aloud.  
  
**I can't hold on   
To what I want when I'm stretched so thin   
It's all too much to take in   
I can't hold on   
To anything watching everything spin   
With thoughts of failure sinking...**  
  
_BAH! Ending the chapter here, because I feel like it. So, who is this mysterious Yuminaka Gatou, and the Umiaka Okami (which literally means Sea's Bloody Wolf… or Sea's Red Wolf… I prefer to use 'bloody' for this fic, just so y'all know.) I don't know when I'm updating, as I only have a few chapters left. But the final chapter should be out on Saturday, by the latest, all right? I have camp on Sunday, so that's why. _


	8. In the End

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Eight: In The End**  
  
"This is worse than I thought," Kakashi said. He looked at the three before him. Naruto, with a new bandage around his neck, seemed curious. Sasuke glared. Sakura looked worried.   
  
"Explain," Sasuke said harshly.   
  
Kakashi sat across the grass from his students.  
  
"Hai, hai," he said with a mild grin. "There is more than one demon in this world. In fact, there are seven demons, one for each element. Fire is the Kyubi no Kitsune, who's a fox. Earth is the Todomatsu Ojika. Darkness if the Mayonaka no Hyou. Wind is the Youkai no Akume. Water is the Umiaka no Okami. Sand is the Shukaku. Metal is the Shimagara no Hebi. Each one has their own domain and they defend it against the others. However, there have been enemies between them."  
  
He sighed. Naruto was trying to understand. Sasuke showed no interest, but Sakura made him continue with her thirst for knowledge.   
  
"Take the Wolf and the Fox," he said. "Both have hated each other for a very long time, and both are strong enough to destroy the word. The Wolf has never been sealed, but the Fox has. However, the Wolf is known for being bloodthirsty and angry and torturous, even moreso than the Kistune. He is a Demon to truly be feared."  
  
He turned to Naruto. "What did Yuminaka want with the Kyubi again?" he asked.   
  
"Research," the boy replied. "That's when Kyubi mentioned the Okami."  
  
"Aa… so Yuminaka is still doing those experiments," he murmured. He actually hadn't meant to say it aloud, but accidentally did.   
  
Naruto jumped on him. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'EXPERIMENTS', YOU PERVERT!" he screamed.   
  
Sasuke and Sakura had to forcefully pull the blonde girl off of Kakashi this time, as she seemed to be suffocating the poor teacher. "Calm down!" Sakura yelled as they finally hauled him off. "Kakashi-sensei will explain if you don't kill him first."  
  
**(It starts with)   
One thing / I don't know why  
It doesn't even matter how hard you try  
Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme  
To explain in due time  
All I know  
time is a valuable thing  
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings  
Watch it count down to the end of the day  
The clock ticks life away  
It's so unreal**  
**Didn't look out below  
Watch the time go right out the window  
Trying to hold on / but didn't even know  
Wasted it all just to  
Watch you go  
I kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart  
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when**   
  
After a few minutes, Kakashi seemed to get his breath pack. "Aa," he muttered. "Yuminaka Gatou is a well known scholar and scientist, although he used to be one of the good guys, he started to experiment in forbidden jutsus, so well, he was fired, obviously. Because he had perfected one of his jutsus, which involved basically performing seals and molding chakra to literally pull the inner organs out of a man, he was labeled as a S criminal."  
  
"So what you mean," Sakura said, "is that this man is very dangerous and we could all be killed."  
  
"That about sums it up," Kakashi said with a smile.   
  
Sakura glared at him, releasing Naruto. "Okay, Naru-chan, you can kill him," she said, setting up camp. They had been at this spot for a few hours and the sky was darkening. Besides, it was a good enough campsite to sleep at for now.   
  
"Gladly," Naruto growled. Sasuke still had a firm hold on the boy.  
  
"No, Naruto," he yelled as Naruto was straining to get free. "You kill Kakashi, we're one man short against Yuminaka!"   
  
Naruto stopped. "Fine," he moped, collapsing onto his sleeping bag. He was immediately asleep.   
  
Kakashi, taking no notice of his students murderous thoughts and words toward him, or Sasuke's save, for that matter, opened the latest volume of his smut books and began reading. Sasuke went off to retrieve more firewood whilst Sakura stayed and tended to the fire.   
  
Sasuke looked around him. The firewood around the campsite was too small to keep it burning the entire night, so he went deeper into the forest. He sensed a strange chakra, that was somewhat familiar, but he didn't know from where. He walked towards it, hiding his chakra and molding himself into the shadows. After about an hour of walking, he spotted what he was looking for.   
  
There was a small hut. The chakra he sensed, though, came from underground. Sasuke theorized that the hut was just the entrance so something that spanned for a while underground, or maybe it was just in layers. However, the boy was sure that this was where the howl of pain earlier had come from. As he watched, he noticed something in the windows of the hut.   
  
Guards. There were two shinobi at each window. Probably missing nin or something of the like.  
  
Both of them had katanas strapped to their sides and watazakis on their backs. _They were probably Chuunin class at least,_ Sasuke thought as he watched them. Slowly, he made his way back to the campsite, picking up firewood on the way.   
  
**I tried so hard and got so far  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
I had to fall to lose it all  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
**  
As soon as Sasuke returned, he was met with a very reproachful Sakura. "Where the fuck have you been?" she blurted out, not even bothering to be sweet. She had been worrying for the last hour and a half and Kakashi had prevented her from following after him to make sure he was okay.   
  
"I found out where the Kyubi is hidden," he said softly.   
  
This made Sakura be quiet and Kakashi look up from his book.   
  
"Or, at least… I think that's where it is," he continued.   
  
"Tell us," Kakashi ordered in a soft voice.   
  
"About two kilometers north, there's a hut with guards in the windows. The hut itself, is small, which is why I believe that the Kyubi is being kept underground. Also, that's where I sensed some chakra from."  
  
"The Kyubi's chakra?"  
  
"I don't know… it was unfamiliar to me, but I've only felt the Kyubi's chakra one and this chakra felt… weird… evil." He sighed. "I don't know how to explain it."  
  
"We'll rest here tonight and then tomorrow, we'll go that way."  
  
Sasuke and Sakura nodded. Sasuke put the wood down. "Who's taking the first watch?" he asked.   
  
"I will," Kakashi said unexpectedly.   
  
The two genin nodded and got into their sleeping bags a moment later.   
  
They didn't know that Naruto was lying awake in his.  
  
**One thing / I don't know why  
It doesn't even matter how hard you try  
Keep that in mind / I designed this rhyme  
To remind myself how  
I tried so hard  
In spite of the way you were mocking me  
Acting like I was part of your property  
Remembering all the times you fought with me  
I'm surprised it got so (far)   
Things aren't the way they were before  
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore  
Not that you knew me back then  
But it all comes back to me  
In the end**  
**You kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart  
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I**  
  
Naruto was awake the entire time. He just faked his sleep, which he knew that the Jounin knew. He opened his eyes into slits and looked at his teacher. The man was sitting by the fire, reading. He made a little bit of movement, as though he had just woken up and stretched – again to give the impression of waking up.   
  
The Jounin looked at him. "Nani, Naruto?" he asked.   
  
"I'll be right back… I have to take a piss," the boy replied.   
  
Kakashi nodded and watched as the blonde stood up. In the darkness, he couldn't see that Naruto was wearing his shuriken holster or that his eyes were dead set on finding his older sister.

He crept softly through the still forms of Sasuke and Sakura, as to not wake them up and made it into the bushes.   
  
Once he made sure that he was far enough away for Kakashi to not hear him, Naruto jumped into the trees. He jumped from tree branch to tree branch, moving as fast as he could until he stood on the last tree branch before the clearing with the hut in it. Carefully taking off his orange jacket and pants (to show a black tanktop and black pants underneath) Naruto hid them in a hole in the tree. It wouldn't due to be found. He blended in with the shadows and made his way closer to the hut.   
  
**I tried so hard and got so far  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
I had to fall to lose it all  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
**  
After an hour, when Naruto did not return, Kakashi swore violently. He put his book away and called for Sakura and Sasuke to get out of bed.   
  
"Get up!" he yelled.   
  
The two obeyed, looking at him with confusion through bleary eyes. "What?" Sakura asked.   
  
"Naruto went ahead alone," Kakashi replied.   
  
Both of the genins looked at him. "And you let him?" came the deadly voice of Sasuke when he was mad.  
  
"I thought he was taking a piss!" Kakashi replied.   
  
There was no reply to this, so Kakashi continued with his demands.  
  
"Leave all of your stuff here, we'll hide it in the bushes. Take only what you need to fight!" he ordered.   
  
Sasuke and Sakura nodded, both of them packing up theirs and Naruto's stuff with light-speed. In ten minutes, they were ready.   
  
"Show us where this hut is," Kakashi said to Sasuke. Sasuke nodded and jumped into the trees, making his way quickly towards the hut.   
  
The other two followed close behind.   
  
When they reached the last tree, Sasuke stopped. The others landed on the wide branch next to, wondering why he was kneeling by the trunk of the tree.   
  
"What's there?" Sakura asked.   
  
Sasuke turned around, showing them the bright orange jumpsuit that was hidden there. "I'm going to kill that idiot," he growled.   
  
**I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go  
And for all this  
There's only one thing you should know  
I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go  
And for all this  
There's only one thing you should know**  
  
Naruto managed to knock out the two guards that were on duty. He took their shuriken and kunai, knowing that he would need them. Slowly, he made his way down through the trapdoor at the back of the hut.   
  
He was standing in a long, dark hallway with torches as the only things that lit the abyss. Slowly, keeping to the shadows, he stepped forward, wary for any attacks that might come.   
  
He closed his eyes, trying to find the chakra of his demon sister when a hand placed itself on his shoulder.   
  
"I knew you would come… all the better," a voice said before a fist descended on the back of the blonde's head, sufficiently knocking him out.   
  
The black-haired man that had found him picked him up and carried him off.   
  
**I tried so hard and got so far  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter  
I had to fall to lose it all  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter**  
  
_Translations of the Demons:  
  
Kyubi no Kitsune: Nine Tailed Demon Fox  
Todomatsu no Ojika: Stag of the White Fir  
Mayonaka no Hyou: Night's Panther  
Youkai no Akume: Ghost of the Wild Horse  
Umiaka no Okami: Sea's Bloody Wolf  
Shimagara no Hebi: Striped Serpent  
Shukaku: Raccoon of the Desert   
  
Only two of the demons: the wolf and the fox, are actually going to be used, but I thought people might want to know about the others. Do you know how long it took to make those names? I needed them for the explanation and I wanted them to be cool-sounding, so of course I made them entirely too complicated! All of them are my own making, thank you very much, except for Shukaku and Kyubi, of course, as they appear in the manga/anime. If compelled, I might add them into another story, however, I already have this one planned out in my head, so yeah. Moving on now.   
  
Whee, so, minna-san, how'd ya like the chapter? I know, evil cliffhanger, neh? But its all good in the end. And since I'm getting into the story now, I might have the ninth chapter out tonight. Well, I'll end this here. Ja ne!  
  
Kyuubi-chan _


	9. A Place for My Head

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Nine: A Place For My Head  
  
Sasuke looked at the hut. He, Sakura and Kakashi were still on the branch, looking down.   
  
"The guards are gone," he murmured. His Sharingan were activated, just in case it was all an illusion.   
  
Kakashi nodded. "All right, then, lets go," he told them softly.   
  
Swiftly, the three Leaf Nin jumped down, making their way towards the hut from three different directions. They went in. The guards were knocked out and their shuriken and kunai were gone. The katanas and wakazashi were still there.   
  
Kakashi picked up a katana and handed it to Sasuke, knowing the boy preferred the weapon. He gave a wakazashi to Sakura. The girl gripped the hilt hard in her hand. Sasuke pulled the katana out of its sheath for a second. Satisfied that is was good, he slammed it back into the sheath and looked at Kakashi, who was standing by a closed trapdoor.   
  
They opened it and walked down the stairs that were under it. "Stay on your guard," Kakashi warned them. "Who knows what that monster has in here?"  
  
Sakura and Sasuke nodded. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, hand gripping the katana, thumb ready to flick up the hilt in a second's notice. Kakashi waved him over.   
  
"Nani yo?" Sasuke grunted.   
  
"No matter who you see here – don't lose it!" Kakashi warned.   
  
"Hai, hai," Sasuke growled, knowing what he was referring to.   
  
"I mean it, Sasuke."  
  
"I know."  
  
**I watch how the  
Moon sits in the sky / in the dark night  
Shining with the light from the sun  
The sun doesn't give / light to the moon assuming  
The moon's going to owe it one  
It makes me think of how you act to me / You do  
Favors and then rapidly / You just  
Turn around and start asking me / about  
Things you want back from me  
I'm sick of the tension / sick of the hunger  
Sick of you acting like I owe you this  
Find another place / to feed your greed  
While I find a place to rest  
  
** When Naruto woke up, he found himself in a cage adjacent from Kyubi's. He looked over at her and grinned. "Nee-chan," he called softly. She seemed to be unconscious, or asleep, for she didn't respond.  
  
Naruto tried to move closer to her, and found that he couldn't move. He looked down at himself. He was bound tightly with wire. He felt the blood in his wrists beat dully because the wire was tied too tight. His ankles throbbed. As did his knees, thighs and chest. He had been tied so that he couldn't move. Looking around him, he saw one black-haired middle-aged man standing before him.   
  
The man wore a long black cloak and stared at him with red eyes.   
  
"Y-you!" he yelped, struggling harder against the binds.   
  
"Don't struggle, it's pointless," came the soft voice of Uchiha Itachi.   
  
"What the fuck do you want with me?" Naruto growled.   
  
"I don't think we've ever had a chance to have a proper introduction," Itachi said, looking at the feminine form of Naruto.   
  
"What do you mean?" Naruto inquired, completely forgetting that he was a girl. ((Ever since the Kyubi had been ripped out of him, there was a definite change in chakra, but barely anyone noticed it. Apparently it was changed enough to fool Itachi. Or at least get the man curious))  
  
"I don't think I've ever seen a girl like you in my entire life," Itachi sneered.   
  
"Shiozu Kurai," the girl spat, and playing along, said, "Who are you?"  
  
"Uchiha Itachi."  
  
"Great, now that we're all buddy-buddy, why am I here?"  
  
Itachi didn't answer him. Instead, the elder Uchiha just left the boy-turned-girl sitting there and disappeared. Naruto swore to the darkness ever curse he knew. After that, he fell back into the deep unconsciousness that was waiting for him.  
  
**I want to be in another place  
I hate when you say you don't understand  
(You'll see it's not meant to be)   
I want to be in the energy, not with the enemy  
A place for my head  
**  
The rest of Team Seven walked along the dark hallways, keeping their eyes and ears open for any type of sound. To their surprise, nothing came out at them. Kakashi turned to Sakura.  
  
"Do you remember the Kyubi's chakra?" he asked her. "From the bridge mission?"  
  
Sakura nodded.   
  
"See if you can find it. Sasuke and I will protect you."  
  
Again, the pink-haired girl nodded and closed her eyes. She scanned throughout the entire building, finally cataching a wisp of it. Following it through her chakra, she came across a door. As she was invisible as chakra, she walked through the door and saw Naruto and the Kyubi in cages that were near each other.   
  
Calling herself back into her body, she reported on what she had seen.   
  
"Lead the way," Kakashi told her. Slowly, Sakura nodded.  
  
**Maybe someday I'll be just like you / and  
Step on people like you do and / Run  
Away the people I thought I knew  
I remember back then who you were  
You used to be calm / used to be strong  
Used to be generous / but you should've known / That you'd  
Wear out your welcome / now you see  
How quiet it is / all alone / I'm so  
Sick of the tension / sick of the hunger  
Sick of you acting like I owe you this  
Find another place / to feed your greed  
While / I find a place to rest / I'm so**

Naruto fazed in and out of consciousness. However, he had no dreams which involved the Kitsune in the cage that was next to his. Sighing, he realized that he didn't need to have the dreams: after all, he was stuck here too!  
  
He looked up through groggy eyes, wondering what the hell he had done to deserve this. The Kitsune hadn't woken up once since Naruto had been there. Thinking, Naruto wondered how long he had been here.   
  
But, as he was underground and there was no clock in the room, he had no way of telling.   
  
_It can't have been more than a few hours_, he mused to himself. _At least, I hope it hasn't been more than a few hours. Why is Itachi mixed up in all of this? What will Sasuke do when he finds out? Scratch that… he already knows. Damn my loudmouth.   
_  
He sighed, hating the position he was in. After all, he had no weapons and no ways to perform seals. All of the sudden, a memory occurred to him.   
  
**_FLASHBACK!  
_**  
_It was the first day of being a ninja. To test Sakura's feelings, Naruto had disguised himself as Sasuke and asked her. Unfortunately, due to some rotten milk, he had the unfortunate case of diarrhea. However, Sakura met up with the REAL Sasuke and he told her she was annoying. During this time, Naruto was in the bathroom.  
  
Naruto ran out of the bathroom. Just as he was running down the hall, he skids to a stop.   
  
"YOU! What are you doing here?" he yells, stopping just in front of none other than Uchiha Sasuke.   
  
Sasuke gave him that know-it-all smirk that always got on his nerves. "Ninjas can untie ropes," Sasuke told him. "Remember that, dead-last."  
  
**END FLASHBACK**_  
  
Naruto smirked at nothing. No way was he going to be outdone by Sasuke!  
  
**Sick of the tension / sick of the hunger  
Sick of you acting like I owe you this  
Find another place / to feed your greed  
While / I find a place to rest  
I want to be in another place  
I hate when you say you don't understand  
(You'll see it's not meant to be)   
I want to be in the energy, not with the enemy  
A place for my head  
**  
"Just a few more doors," Sakura was telling her companions. All of the sudden, someone came out from the shadows.   
  
His long black hair was in a ponytail, and he stared about the high collar of his black cloak with red Sharingan eyes.   
  
"Uchiha Itachi…" Kakashi murmured, putting a restraining hand on Sasuke's shoulder to prevent the younger Uchiha from attacking the other.  
  
"Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja," the other murmured, his voice cold.   
  
"You have taken something from us," Kakashi continued softly.   
  
"Iie," Itachi said lazily. "I have taken two things from you."  
  
"You have both of them?" Kakashi asked.   
  
"Hai," Itachi murmured. "I needed them for my organization."  
  
"What is it you want with them?"  
  
There was a soft chuckle before the elder Uchiha murmured, "You would just love to know that, wouldn't you, Copy Ninja Kakashi?"   
  
Kakashi didn't answer. Itachi just sneered. "Well," Itachi wanted to know. "are you going to attack me, little brother?"  
  
He looked at Sasuke with the Sharingan that still haunted the raven-haired boy's memories. "Isn't that why you became a ninja?" he asked. "To get revenge? Aren't you an avenger?"  
  
It was obvious that his little taunts were getting to the younger boy. Kakashi felt the boy tense, as though he was ready to spring into action and made sure that he could hold him back.  
  
It wouldn't do to have one of the genin killed before they found their comrade, now would it?  
  
**You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)  
You try to take the best of me (Go away)**  
  
Naruto, after several attempts that failed, finally succeeded in getting out of the ropes. He crawled towards the fox in the other cage as far as he could go. Kyubi was still unconscious. Inspecting his wrists, Naruto saw the blood well up from when the wire had cut through the skin.

_ I need to get to Kyubi!_ he thought. Trying to think, he saw the fox and an idea occurred to him.  
  
"Henge!" he yelled, performing the seals necessary to do the transforming technique.   
  
Where Naruto (female) had been a second before, now stood a tiny fox, slim enough to fit through the bars of the cages. He raced through the bars of his cage and stopped outside of the door to his older sister's.  
  
Reaching in, he scratched the nine-tailed fox behind her ears. "Nee-chan!" he whispered softly, unable to stop the flow of tears at the Kitsune's weakened state. "Nee-chan, wake up."  
  
Stirring slightly, the fox surprisingly did wake. "Little kit?" she asked softly. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came… with Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke… to rescue you!" Naruto said. He looked at the cage in confusion. "Ne… nee-chan, do you know how to get out of one of these things?"  
  
Kyubi smiled at him. "The keys are by the door," she told him.   
  
Naruto ran off to the door, looking around. He finally spotted the keys and yanked them off the hook. Outside, he could hear Kakashi facing down Itachi. He slowly unlocked the door of the cage.   
  
The Kyubi no Kitsune slowly, hesitantly got to her feet. She stumbled her way out of the cage. Naruto embraced her as soon as she was completely out, nuzzling his cheek in her neck. Even in her weakened state, Kyubi managed to offer the boy some comfort.   
  
Pulling back, the boy's blue eyes looked into her red ones. "Let's go out and help Kakashi-sensei and the others and then…" Naruto paused for a moment. His expression brightened a moment later when he completed his sentence. "And then, let's go home!"  
  
Kyubi smiled. Maybe… just like Naruto, she had always been looking for someone to accept her. _This kid really is interesting_, she thought as she followed the boy.  
  
**I want to be in another place  
I hate when you say you don't understand  
(You'll see it's not meant to be)   
I want to be in the energy, not with the enemy  
A place for my head  
I'm so sick of the tension / sick of the hunger  
Sick of you acting like I owe you this  
Find another place / to feed your greed  
While I find a place to rest  
**  
_Bah, here's chapter nine. I hope you guys liked it. It took me forever to write, and I'm not exactly sure how to merge Naruto and Kyubi again. It will happen, maybe, but I'm not completely sure. Oh well, we'll all have to see, won't we. There's only Chapter Ten and Eleven left, so you all must stay with me for the final two chapters of Hybrid Theory! =P   
  
I love you all!  
  
-Kyuubi-chan-  
  
"When people are protecting something truly precious to them, they truly can become as strong as they must be"  
  
-Haku, Naruto Volume 3 _


	10. Forgotten

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Ten: Forgotten**  
  
With each step she took, the Kyubi no Kitsune gathered more strength. She knew what lay on the other side of the doors, but it was her job as Naruto's older sister to protect him. She silently readied herself for the battle ahead. Naruto stopped in front of the door. Kyubi could see him shaking a little bit. She was tall right now, towering over the boy by at least a foot. She put her head down and licked his cheek.   
  
"Arigatou, Kit," she murmured softly in his ear.   
  
Naruto blushed. "No problem, Nee-chan!" he told her and then opened the door.   
  
It looked as though they had just walked in on a random battle sequence.  
  
Sasuke and Itachi were squared off. Sasuke was holding a katana and Itachi looked at though he didn't care. Kakashi had obviously given up trying to hold the boy back and was now looking at him, ready to step in at any given moment.   
  
As soon as he opened the door, all four in the hallway turned to look as the door open. Itachi's eyes widened as he saw the Kyubi, growling at him, standing in its full anger.   
  
"You…" she snarled, her red eyes narrowing as the chakra gathered around her body. "…foolish …_mortal_!"  
  
The fox growled, baring her teeth as she slowly advanced on the elder Uchiha. The other three just stared in shock. Naruto looked as though he were half amused/ half wanting to hold his elder sister back.   
  
**From the top to the bottom  
Bottom to top I stop  
At the core I've forgotten  
In the middle of my thoughts  
Taken far from my safety  
The picture is there  
The memory won't escape me  
But why should I care**  
  
Kakashi looked towards the doorway as he saw it creak open. His one eye glancing lazily around until he saw who was behind the door: Naruto and Kyubi. The Kyubi took one glance at Itachi and began to boil with rage. He shot a quick glance towards Sakura, who was backing up in fear, even though she tried to hide it. Adverting his eye, he gazed at Sasuke.   
  
Sasuke was staring in open mouth wonder at the demon before his eyes. In fact, the only person here who seemed to NOT be surprised by the demon's power besides the demon, was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.   
  
_That's Kyubi?_ Sasuke thought to himself as he felt his arms go to his sides in shock. _That's the demon fox, Kyubi no Kitsune, that almost destroyed the Leaf Village. He… she… is scary. How come Naruto isn't afraid of her?  
_  
Naruto looked up at his older sister, about to say something when the Kyubi spoke.   
  
"_You_… _foolish_… _mortal_," she roared at Itachi. She advanced slowly towards him, hackles raised as her teeth bared fiercely. Itachi performed some seals as Kyubi pounched. In his place was a piece of stone. Kyubi grinned. "Come out, come out, wherever you are… Uchiha…" she said in a singsong growl, morbid pleasure running through her voice.   
  
Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke could only stare at the fox in shock. Just then, a shadow detached itself from the ceiling, landing on Kyubi's back. Raising a kunai, Itachi stabbed it into the back of the demon. Kyubi twisted her head around, a devilish grin playing at her lips.   
  
"Just because you chose Sasuke as your avenger, Itachi," she snarled, "don't expect me to go easy on you."  
  
Itachi just flicked another kunai out and stabbed it at the fox. Kyubi's head came closer towards him, jaws snapping. Even though the Kyubi was quick, Itachi somehow managed to get out of the way.   
  
"You're going to have to be better than that, demon," the man hissed as he blended in with the shadows once more.   
  
"You're right, I was careless… or was I?" she asked.   
  
Itachi didn't have time to ask what she meant before chakra swirled around her, the spirals become faster and brighter.   
  
"Just because you think you can lay a blade on me, doesn't mean you actually can hurt me!"   
  
**There's a place so dark you can't see the end  
(Skies cock back) and shock that which can't defend  
The rain then sends dripping / an acidic question  
Forcefully, the power of suggestion  
Then with the eyes shut / looking though the rust and rot  
And dust / a spot of light floods the floor  
And pours over the rusted world of pretend  
The eyes ease open and its dark again**  
  
"Kyubi!" Naruto yelled. The Kyubi turned, facing the boy. He looked tired, worn out, spent… in some ways, he looked dead. Lowering her head, Kyubi nuzzled his face with her nose.   
  
"Are you all right?" she asked, her voice holding a soft tone, a caring glance was in her blood-red eyes.   
  
"Not here… let's just go home…" Naruto mumbled softly. Kyubi picked up on his words. She nodded.   
  
"All right… not here…" she replied. She turned back to the dark hallway. "We'll finish this later, Uchiha Itachi. You can bet on that."  
  
Naruto had slumped over, unconscious once more. Kyuubi lightly picked him up in one of her tails. She sat him on her forehead, where he curled into the four. Looking at Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke, she grinned.   
  
"Need a ride?" she asked before picking each up with her tails and putting them on her head near Naruto.   
  
The three immediately went over to Naruto in order to check on his health. Except for being tired – mentally, physically, and emotionally, the blonde seemed fine.   
  
"It's strange…" Sakura said as the Kyubi emerged, with them, out of the trapdoor and out of the hut.   
  
"What's strange?" Kakashi asked, pulling his book out of his back pouch.   
  
"I've been taught my entire life to fear and hate the Kitsune, and here I am… sitting on his head," Sakura explained.  
  
"I'm a she, you know," the Kitsune told them gruffly. She smiled as she sniffed, looking at the sky. "Ah… it's been too long since I've seen the sky."  
  
She dropped them off in the clearing where they had stayed the night before, as she had followed their scent to their things. Sighing, she lay down, allowing them to jump off. She slowly curled up, Surrounding herself and Naruto with her nine tails.   
  
Sasuke looked at them, sound asleep before muttering, "Dobe" and laying out his sleeping bag.   
  
Kakashi just grinned behind his mask. Oh the mysteries of the world.  
  
**From the top to the bottom  
Bottom to top I stop  
At the core I've forgotten  
In the middle of my thoughts  
Taken far from my safety  
The picture is there  
The memory won't escape me  
But why should I care  
In the memory you'll find me  
Eyes burning up  
The darkness holding me tightly  
Until the sun rises up**  
  
The next morning, the group awoke. Naruto really didn't want to get up. He found himself comfortably encased in his older sister's embrace. It was something that he had really only felt in his subconscious and to feel it for real was something really good for him. He couldn't explain what it was.   
  
"Get up, dobe!" Sasuke yelled at him.   
  
"Too… comfy…" Naruto muttered back.   
  
Sasuke sighed. "Ne, Kyubi-san," he said. "Can you get him up?" He seemed to be the only one out of the group who didn't care about the demon being there. Sure, she was strong, but aside from that, she was just someone who made Naruto feel wanted.   
  
And anybody like that was a friend in Sasuke's book, though he wasn't entirely sure why.   
  
Kyubi nodded. She leaned over and poked Naruto softly on the cheek with her nose. When he didn't respond to this, she gripped the back of his shirt lightly in her teeth and deposited him "gracefully" on the ground near Sasuke.   
  
He woke immediately. "Itai!" he yelped. "What did you do that for, Nee-chan?"  
  
"You weren't getting up," the fox replied, stretching.   
  
Kakashi walked over to them. "Yo!" he said, putting away his book. Sakura was right next to him.   
  
"Naruto," Kakashi called. "Kyubi no Kitsune."  
  
The two looked over at him. Naruto looked with a questioning glance, Kyubi just looked bored. "What?" Naruto asked.   
  
"Is there anyway that you two could become one again, because we don't have very much time," Kakashi explained.  
  
"Very much time until what?" Naruto asked.   
  
"Your body changed to balance you. But it's still an unnatural occurrence. If you two don't merge again, then Naruto could die," Sakura told them, her voice worried.  
  
Naruto and Kyubi exchanged a glance.   
  
"I'm not sure…" Naruto mumbled. He felt like crying. He had found his older sister, but if they couldn't share the same body again, would he really die?  
  
**Moving all around / screaming of the ups and downs  
Pollution manifested in perpetual sound  
The wheels go round and the sunset creeps behind  
Street lamps, chain-link and concrete  
A little piece of paper with a picture drawn floats  
On down the street till the wind is gone  
The memory now is like the picture was then  
When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again  
From the top to the bottom  
Bottom to top I stop  
At the core I've forgotten  
In the middle of my thoughts  
Taken far from my safety  
The picture is there  
The memory won't escape me  
But why should I care  
**  
Hours later, the two were still trying to find out some way to become part of each other one more time. They were reluctant to use the original seal, considering that the seal needed a sacrifice and Naruto already felt guilty enough about taking the Fourth Hokage's life.   
  
"All right, Kyubi!" Naruto yelled. The two were experimenting with fusing their chakra together. So far, it seemed to be working. Though the process took a long time, the red and blue chakra was becoming a deep purple and then flowing into Naruto's body.   
  
The other three just sat around, watching as the Kyubi no Kitsune and the number one maverick ninja tried to force themselves into Naruto's body. They had given ideas here and there, but that was all they could do.   
  
The fox's form was beginning to blue, becoming more and more fuzzy. Naruto was sweating immensely. He knew that he would have to sleep for a long time after this.   
  
After what seemed like hours, the Kyubi finally dissolved and the last of the chakra went into Naruto. Because the two souls shared the same body, one of Naruto's eyes became red whilst the other remained blue and his fangs stayed around.   
  
"I did it…" he murmured softly before falling forward.   
  
Sasuke was there in a flash, catching the girl before she hit the ground.  
  
**In the memory you'll find me  
Eyes burning up  
The darkness holding me tightly  
Until the sun rises up  
Now you got me caught in the act  
You bring the thought back  
I'm telling you that  
I see it right through you   
In the memory you'll find me  
Eyes burning up  
The darkness holding me tightly  
Until the sun rises up**  
  
WHEEEE I'm done! YAY! One more chapter to go! And that chapter will be kick-ass! I might start it today, but its gonna be great, hopefully. I hope it will, anyway. So yeah, I love all my reviewers! I might wait for a little bit, so that I can actually get reviews for my last chapter. But its gonna take a while anyway, so what's the point? It will be out before Friday. I can assure you that.

Oh yeah... this isn't the end of Itachi... I hope to get the next chapter out with a bunch of KICK ASS scenes in it... literally... people kicking others asses... final battle to the tune of "Pushing Me Away"  
  
LOVE ALL OF YOU!  
  
-Kyuubi-chan-


	11. Pushes Me Away

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor will I ever own him  
  
**Pairings**: SasuNaru and maybe some others  
  
**Warnings**: Shonen ai, extensive violence and lots of blood.  
  
**Summary**: When someone takes the Kyubi no Kitsune from Naruto… the weirdest thing happens… he becomes stuck in a female form, similar to his Sexy no Jutsu. Forced to keep it a secret that he's stuck as a female, he takes on a new personality – all the while contemplating the choice that could change his life forever. With the Kitsune gone, and him in a different form – people are nice to him. Does he really want to be 'Naruto' again?  
  
**Title: Hybrid Theory  
Chapter Eleven: Pushing Me Away**  
  
It was a long night. Sasuke stayed by Naruto's side throughout the entire thing. Ever since he had molded himself with the Kitsune, he had been asleep, not even stirring in his slumber. Sakura and Kakashi joined him from time to time, but Sasuke didn't say anything to them.   
  
It was only really know that Kakashi understood what Iruka had said a few days before.   
  
**_FLASHBACK_**!  
  
_"What about Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.   
  
"Sasuke's just weird. He's a table. I don't know him that well – but I think that Naruto's female half has found Sasuke's softer side," Iruka explained.  
_  
**_END FLASHBACK!!  
_**  
Around three in the morning, Sasuke finally fell asleep. Kakashi was taking his turn on watch, watching the boy. The raven-haired child had curled up to the blonde, resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. If Kakashi had a camera, he would have taken the picture, but he didn't have one, so he sighed and merely smiled softly at it.   
  
Some things just couldn't be explained. Maybe this was one of those occurrences.   
  
**I've lied / to you  
The same way that I always do  
This is / the last smile  
That I'll fake for the sake of being with you**  
  
It was another day before Naruto finally awoke again, this time back in his old form – as a happy male. Sasuke nearly died with relief when he saw his teammate's eyes open, even though they were very strange eyes. The right eye was still the crystal blue that Sasuke had seen for four years, whilst the left was a blood-red that he had only seen once before and that was when Naruto had gone up against Gaara in the forest during the Chuunin exam.   
  
"You're alive!" Sakura said to Naruto as she came over, relief written all over her face.   
  
Naruto nodded. "I don't die easy!" he bragged. Sasuke whacked him upside his head.   
  
"Itai!" the blonde yelled. "Wait! My voice! It's not as loud!" He looked down at himself. He put his hands where his breasts should be, but found none. Jumping up, he ran around in estascy. "I'm a man again!"  
  
Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura all looked at him with strange expressions on their faces.   
  
"Typical dobe," Sasuke grunted. Sakura looked at him, knowing that his feelings for that 'typical dobe' were much more than what he would ever have for her.   
  
Yes, it hurt. But she would rather he be happy with someone else than be miserable with her. Slowly, she placed her arms tentatively around Sasuke. She felt him tense in her embrace.   
  
"You know, Sasuke-kun," she whispered in his ear. "You should tell Naruto how you feel."  
  
Sasuke flushed a deep red. "W-what are you talking about?" he growled.   
  
Sakura giggled. "If you're in love with someone, then the only thing to regret later is doing nothing about it," she said wisely.   
  
Sasuke looked over at her. "Has that ever happened to you… that regret thing?"  
  
"Once, but that's okay," Sakura replied with a small smile. "It's not a happy feeling."  
  
Sasuke nodded. He turned back to Naruto, who was still running around with the joys of his manhood back.   
  
Kakashi just sat there, on the grass, reading his book, until he heard Naruto step up in front of him. Naruto looked at the man with nothing but grim determination in his multicolored eyes. Gone was the feeling of joy he had experienced moments before.   
  
"Kakashi," he said in a soft voice. "I have something I need to do."  
  
Kakashi looked up, his eye showing nothing of what he was feeling. "Oh?"  
  
"I have to go and fight that demon."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Both of them."  
  
Kakashi motioned for Naruto to sit next to him, which the boy did a moment later. "Which demons do you mean? Itachi? Yuminaka? The Wolf?" he asked seriously. He didn't want his student to go back into there – Naruto didn't have enough training.   
  
"Itachi is Sasuke's enemy, not mine," Naruto replied calmly. "But Okami and Yuminaka are different. They are my enemies. They are Kyubi's enemies. I will kill them."  
  
"What makes you think that I won't stop you?" Kakashi's question was casual, but there was an underlying threat in it.  
  
"Because…" Naruto began. "Because… its my duty to my family and to the village."  
  
Kakashi thought about this for a moment. "I don't want you fighting them."  
  
"I don't want to fight them either, Kakashi-sensei," came the strange retort. "But this isn't about what I want to do. It's about what I have to do."  
  
Kakashi nodded. There wasn't much he could say to that retort, now was there?  
  
It was late at night when Sasuke awoke. He didn't know why he had been disturbed in his sleep. Looking around him, he saw Naruto putting his kunai and shuriken in his holster.   
  
"Where are you going?" the Uchiha wanted to know. His voice held more emotion than he wanted it to.   
  
Naruto looked up at him, eyes hidden in the darkness that surrounded the two. "Go back to sleep, Sasuke," he growled.   
  
"No, not until you tell me where you're going," Sasuke snapped at the blonde. He grabbed the boy's arm, holding him there. "Tell me where you're going."  
  
"Someplace that's not here," the blonde male answered sarcastically. In a whisper, almost inaudible, he continued, "Someplace I might not return from."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke hissed.   
  
"Sa-"  
  
"Don't tell me you're going after Yuminaka!"  
  
"Sasu-"  
  
"You can't defeat him, he's too strong for you!"  
  
"Lis-"  
  
"Please don't go, all right, Naruto?"  
  
Tired of being ignored, Naruto pressed his lips onto the other boy's. It silenced Sasuke's rant as his eyes widened in surprise. Naruto's eyes were closed as he kissed his rival fiercely, passionately. After a second of surprise, Sasuke found himself kissing back.   
  
When they broke for air, Naruto murmured in Sasuke's ear, "I love you, teme" and then disappeared.   
  
**Everything falls apart / even the people who never frown / eventually break down  
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie  
Everything has to end / you'll soon find we're out of time left / to watch it all unwind  
The sacrifice is never knowing  
**  
Naruto sped as quickly as he could, back to the hut that he and his fox friend had just escaped from. He stood on the tree where his orange jacket and pants were. Sighing, he slipped the jacket and pants on, if only because if he were going to die – he was going to die as Uzumaki Naruto, not as Shiozu Kurai or Kyubi no Kitsune. And Uzumaki Naruto wore an orange jumpsuit with a fluffy orange jacket.   
  
Naruto stared down at the hut, hesitating for a moment.  
  
**_Are you really going through with this?_** Kyubi asked in his mind.   
  
"Yes, I am," Naruto whispered back.   
  
**_You do realize that the chances you'll survive aren't that great,_** his older sister pestered.   
  
"Yes, I realize this, Nee-chan, but I have to do this, all right?"   
  
**_Why?_**  
  
"Why what?"  
  
**_Why do you have to be the one that does this?_**  
  
"Because I care," Naruto whispered. "Because I want to be strong enough to protect those I love."  
  
**_What is being strong?  
_**  
"I don't know."  
  
**_ Then why do you hope to obtain it.  
_**  
"Because I love them."  
  
His Nee-chan purred softly in the back of his mind, calming him down as he jumped from the tree, into the clearing.   
  
"YUMINAKA GAROU!" he yelled, calling the stupid old geezer out. "GET OUT HERE NOW!"  
  
"What are you screaming about?" the old man asked, appearing out of thin air with a large wolf by his side. He smirked. "Oh, it's the kid. Sorry, Okami… he's not worth what you have."  
  
Waves of purple chakra flew off of Naruto, his eyes glowing. One shined a fierce blue whilst the other was a deadly red. He glared at the old man – Yuminaka. "I'll kill you for what you did to me!" he roared, wind sweeping around him because of his chakra. His eyes turned towards Yuminaka, the whiskers on his face looking more and more real. Fangs sharpened and grew, as did claws. Chakra whirled around him ever faster as nine tails grew, flashing and whipping the air.   
  
Yuminaka looked on him in awe. The wolf nearby watched with a morbid pleasure, licking his lips from time to time. He seemed to be enjoying himself.   
  
Naruto's face began to lengthen as red fur grew all over the boy's body. He bent over on all fours, growing in size and strength. A moment later, the transformation was complete. He looked like the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The only difference was his right eye: which still shone blue, even though he was no longer human.   
  
"You look magnificent," Yuminaka told him.   
  
Naruto just growled, pouncing at the man. Before he reached him, though, a gray blur blocked the fox from his prey, knocking him off balance. When he rose back on all fours, he turned and noticed the wolf standing in between him and his target.   
  
"Move," he snarled. "Or die."  
  
"Kill me, Kyubi… if you can!" the wolf growled back.   
  
Naruto jumped in, teeth flashing and jaws snapping. He grabbed a mouthful of the wolf's neck in his mouth. The wolf, after a moment of pain, scratched at Naruto with all his was worth. The sharp nails of Okami's paws dug through the red fur of Naruto, creating long gashes in the skin beneath. Naruto cried out in pain, releasing the other's neck.   
  
Okami jumped at him. Naruto dodged and turned, his tails lashing at the wolf, whipping the fur off its back. Okami howled in fury. Naruto jumped again, landing on the wolf, teeth gnashing against the side of the wolf. Okami swiveled his head around, grabbing the fox by the neck and flinging him elsewhere.   
  
Naruto landed hard on the forest floor. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he stood up, only to have Okami jump on him like a pack wolves to a wounded deer. He tried to shake the other demon off, trying to break free of the hold. Okami held fast. Suddenly rolling, Naruto managed to get on top of the wolf, rather than be under him. His teeth sank into whatever flesh he could find as his claws dug into whatever skin they could reach. The wolf howled in pain and fury, not allowing the fox's grasp to stay for long.  
  
Both opponents were bleeding onto the ground from numerous gashes. They squared off, walking in a slow circle, eyes never leaving their adversary.  
  
"Getting weak in the knees, Kyubi?" Okami snarled.   
  
"You still just like to hear the sound of your own voice, right, Okami?" Naruto sneered.   
  
Okami lunged at him. Knowing that he would have to end his fight soon, Naruto unleashed his chakra, sending it to attack the wolf by any means possible. The purple electricity-like substance formed a shield around his body, crackling with anger and rage. He jumped at his opponent, the shield searing Okami's flesh to the bone, so that there was no chance of healing.   
  
Still crackling slightly, Naruto turned back to Yuminaka. "You're next," he growled, but before he could take another step, his form began to lose itself. Chakra pounded around him, burning him. It was his own chakra. Quickly retreating back into his normal form, the poor boy collapsed before he was able to kill Yuminaka.   
  
Luckily for him… Kakashi was there to murder the sniveling scholar for him anyway, but he didn't see this, as he was already knocked out.   
  
**Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away  
Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away  
**  
As soon as Sasuke got over the shock of the kiss, he hurriedly awakened Kakashi and Sakura, quickly explaining what had happened (and casually forgetting to mention the kiss). Kakashi told them to get ready (again) and that they were following Naruto to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble.   
  
By the time they reached the field that surrounded the hut, the two demons were furiously attacking each other.   
  
"My god… he let the Kitsune take over?" Sakura asked softly.   
  
"No…" Sasuke answered.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Look at his eye – it's still blue," Sasuke replied. "That's not the Kitsune, that's Naruto."  
  
Kakashi nodded, his head proudly thinking about how much the three had grown. Shaking these thoughts out quickly. "Sakura, Sasuke, you two stay here – do not indulge in the fighting," he told them.   
  
"What will you be doing?"  
  
"I'm going after the human that started this."  
  
The two genins nodded and watched as there teacher jumped down from the branch. He slowly approached the old man, eye glittering with anger.   
  
"It wasn't my fault!" Yuminaka was wailing. "The Akatsuki made me do it."  
  
"Stop crying," the silver-haired Jounin barked angrily. His eye was basically cracking with rage.   
  
"P-p-p-p-p-lease don't k-k-k-kill me…" the man cried out.   
  
"Oh… and why not?" Kakashi wanted to know. He removed the hitae-ite from his Sharingan eye and began to summon Chidori to his palm. Yuminaka didn't put up much of a fight as the lightning ball of chakra slammed into his chest. Blood splurted everywhere as the attack sank into the man's heart, making it explode.   
  
Yuminaka fell to the ground, a wide fearful look in his eyes. Kakashi slowly put his forehead protector back over his Sharingan eye.   
  
"Pathetic," he growled softly as he walked over towards the unconscious Naruto. He could see the wolf demon, with a gaping hole in its side, laying several feet away. Gathering the blonde in his arms, he jumped back to where he had left Sasuke and Sakura, not pleased to find that only Sakura was waiting there for him.   
  
**I've tried / like you  
To do everything you wanted too  
This is / the last time  
I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you**  
  
Sasuke watched as Kakashi began to advance on the old scholar. His eyes burned with the Sharingan of his bloodline as he made ready to find Itachi. Just as he was about to jump, Sakura grabbed his arm.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei told us to stay here!" she hissed.   
  
"Hn."  
  
"And here I thought that you were _FINALLY_ getting some kind of emotion in you!"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Fine, go, but when you come back, you better tell Kakashi that it's all your fault."  
  
"Hn."  
  
And then Sasuke left, heading towards where he knew his brother lay in wait. He was gripping the katana he had stolen from the fallen guard as he made his way into the hallway that they had left Itachi in.   
  
"Itachi," he muttered, his voice hoarse as it echoed off of the cold stone walls. "I know your in here, aniki."  
  
"Ah, so there's my little brother," a shadow spoke, walking slowly towards Sasuke.  
  
"Aniki."  
  
"Sasuke."  
  
"I'm here to kill you!" Sasuke yelled, flicking his katana out and discarding the sheath.   
  
"I know, but don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my brother," Itachi sneered. "In fact, I'll fight you with all I have, just to make sure you are worthy of the Uchiha name."   
  
With that said, Itachi swooped in, kicking and punching at Sasuke. It was all the younger could do to dodge, not having a chance to attack. He jumped back, out of reach of his brother. Snarling, he rushed in, katana held in his firm grasp as he swiped it sideways.   
  
Itachi easily avoided the blow. "You're going to have to be better than that if you're going to hit me, little brother," the man taunted. "Do you hate me enough yet? Have you followed my advice?"  
  
"How could I ever hate you enough, Itachi?" Sasuke glowered at his brother, katana glinting with a deadly light reflecting off the torches. "Every minute, I see what you did to the Clan… how could I ever hate you enough?"  
  
"So… are you finally ready to defeat me, little brother?" Itachi goaded. "Can you finally become me?"  
  
Sasuke showed his surprise. "Become… you?" he wondered aloud, not understanding the statement.   
  
"But of course. I killed my family, except for you, of course," Itachi explained slowly. "And you kill me – the only family you have. Therefore, by spilling my blood, you are not only fulfilling your avenger duties, but becoming your aniki."  
  
Sasuke gave a loud scream of something incoherent as he rushed at Itachi again. This time, he managed to clip his brother's shoulder with the katana. Itachi grabbed Sasuke's neck and slammed him against the wall, punching him in the ribs several times. Sasuke purposefully avoided looking into his older brother's eyes. He had fallen for that once before, he didn't need to be under the same thing twice. He wasn't sure if he could withstand the mental strain more than once.   
  
Acting like he was helpless for a moment as several thoughts went through his head, Itachi was surprised when Sasuke's leg hit him in the gut. Dropping the boy, he jumped when Sasuke swung his leg out in an effort to trip him.   
  
"Maybe you have grown a little bit, little brother," Itachi mocked. Sasuke, remembering Lee's Lotus, ducked his brother's incoming fist and skidded forward. He kicked upwards, hitting his brother's chin and sending him flying. Jumping up, he found himself right behind the older man.   
  
"Do you really think 'Lotus' will work on me?" Itachi asked lazily.   
  
"I don't know," Sasuke grunted in reply. "Because this isn't the Lotus!" He swung his foot out, which Itachi blocked, then reversed the flow of movement, swinging his leg at the other side. Not expecting this, it hit Itachi. Sasuke then went through the movements of the Lion Combo. He ended with his heel slamming into Itachi's solar plexus, rendering the man breathless.   
  
Sasuke rolled off and wearily got to his feet. He looked at Itachi, still in his fighting stance. His aniki began to chuckle.   
  
"Congratulations, Sasuke-kun," Itachi breathed softly. "You're truly an Uchiha."  
  
Sasuke passed out soon afterwards.  
  
**Everything falls apart / even the people who never frown / eventually break down  
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie  
Everything has to end / you'll soon find we're out of time left / to watch it all unwind  
The sacrifice is never knowing  
**  
When Sasuke came to, he found himself lying in his sleeping bag. Next to him was Naruto, who looked asleep. He winced slightly, his body on fire with pain.  
  
"Lie still," a soft voice said above him. He looked up through his swollen eye and saw Sakura smiling gently down at him. "It'll hurt if you move too much. You broke a few ribs." Sasuke nodded. "Rest now."  
  
"How's Naruto?" Sasuke managed to murmur.  
  
"Shh," Sakura told him, completely ignoring his comment about the fox-boy. "Just sleep for now. Everything will be better when you wake up again."  
  
Slowly, like a little boy, Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes, slumber creeping up on him barely a second later.  
  
When he awoke again, Sasuke found that he could move slightly easier than before. The first thing that Kakashi did when he saw his student was awake was hit him with his new version of _Icha Icha Paradise_.   
  
"I told you to stay!" he snapped, but it wasn't really in a mean way.   
  
Sasuke just stared at him. "Whatever," he grumbled. He sat up in his bed and looked over. Naruto still hadn't moved. "How long have I been out of it?"  
  
"About two days," Sakura replied, coming over with some food and drink for him. He ate slowly, only sipping at the drink. He wasn't that hungry at the moment, but he didn't feel like arguing either.  
  
"Has Naruto woken?"  
  
Sakura shook his head. "I think it might be more of emotional strain than anything else," she told him. She had recently been training with Tsunade to be a medical nin, so she was familiar with these types of things.  
  
She quickly replaced the wet cloth that was on Naruto's forehead with a fresh one. Sasuke noticed that he had removed Naruto's forehead protector. Kakashi noticed the concerned expression that crossed the normally emotionless boy's face whenever he looked at Naruto.   
  
"Ne… Sakura, are you sure he's going to be alright?" he asked softly.   
  
Sakura sat down next to him. "I'm positive, just give it a little more time and he'll be fine."  
  
Sasuke nodded and went back to sleep, his head turned towards Naruto. Sakura realized this and smiled inwardly. Kakashi just read his smut book as though he were oblivious to the world around him.  
  
**Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away  
Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away**  
  
It was nighttime when Naruto awoke again. He sat up and looked around. His body had mostly healed itself of its injuries. Looking around, Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura asleep nearby. Kakashi was awake by the fire. The boy, unable to see the point in any more sleep, quickly stood and joined his teacher by the fire. Kakashi looked up from his smut book as the boy sat down.   
  
"Did you fulfill what you had to do?" the Jounin asked softly.   
  
Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. He checked himself for injuries and found that the ones he had were fading fast, as though they had never been there to begin with.   
  
"What did the rest of you do?" he asked. "I can't imagine any of you just sitting around, waiting for me to come back."  
  
"You're right about that," Kakashi told him. "I managed to kill off Yuminaka, though I personally think it was a waste of a Chidori – he was a sniveling idiot. And Sasuke went after Itachi. I don't know the details, but I think Sasuke finally defeated him."  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"I'm not."  
  
Naruto sighed, shaking his head. He found himself, for once, at lost for any words. He heard a faint purring in the back of his head, happy when he heard it. It showed that the Kyubi was well and back where she belonged.   
  
"I'm just glad I was strong enough!" Naruto yelled with one of his large vulpine grins. Kakashi just went back to reading his smut novel.   
  
**Were all out of time / this is how we learn how it all unwinds  
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie  
Were all out of time / this is how we learn how it all unwinds  
The sacrifice is never knowing why...   
**  
A few weeks later, Naruto sat down on his roof. They had returned safely, with many not knowing where they had gone. Tsunade was happy that Naruto was back to normal and showed this with a bone-crushing hug. Before he could recover from that, Iruka swept him into an even tighter, more painful hug. Naruto didn't matter if he cracked a few ribs, though, because he truly knew that someone cared about him. And that was worth more than a few of his already abused ribs.  
  
He looked up at the moon, hanging like an orb in the sky, surrounded by the twinkling light of stars on the blue-black canvas of night. If it were a painting, Naruto thought that it would be the best painting in the world. But such beauty can never truly be captured on canvas.   
  
The blonde lay back, just thinking over the last mission and what it meant to be himself when he heard the soft tread of footsteps on the roof. Looking towards them, he saw Sasuke standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable. Sasuke came over after a moment of hesitation and sat down beside his friend.   
  
"Did you… did you really mean what you said?" he whispered, as though he feared asking the question or getting the answer.  
  
"About what?" Naruto asked, slightly puzzled.  
  
"When you said you l-loved me," Sasuke said in an even quieter voice.   
  
"Yes," Naruto replied with no hesitation. Sasuke seemed taken aback.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Yes, I meant it when I said I love you," Naruto blurted out. He looked away, concentrating on the stars. "Because I really do." Turning back, he looked at Sasuke. "The question here is your feelings, not mine."  
  
Sasuke nodded and leaned over, planting a kiss on Naruto's lips. "Does that give you your answer?" he asked softly.   
  
"Hmm…" Naruto mumbled. "I don't know."  
  
"Dobe," the Uchiha breathed affectionately before pulling his love into another, deeper kiss.  
  
**Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away  
Why I never walked away  
Why I played myself this way  
Now I see your testing me pushes me away  
pushes me away  
**  
**Special Thanks To**: _Linkin Park, who every last song in this fic is by. I got it off the CD "Hybrid Theory" and used the title of the CD for my fic -.-" Yeah, I already know I'm pathetic_.   
  
**Replies to Reviews from Chapter 10:  
**  
**Ookami**_: is this a good enough ending for you? Thanks for reading and reviewing.  
  
_**Toki Mirage**_: I know, I know, I'm evil… but so are you! You were being a big meanie on MSN. And I was just joking around. Bah! Don't worry: I still love you!  
  
_**pretendingtobeinsane**_: Here's the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing most of the chapters. I loved reading your comments.  
  
_**Ramen no Tenshi**_: I don't really know what you mean by "-sweatdrop- or not". Care to elaborate, or will you leave me in much confusion?  
  
_**Az-Strawberry**_: Thanks for liking both sides of Naruto. I wasn't sure when I started this fic if people would like "Kurai" as much as "Naruto". I love Kyubi… which is why its name as my user name.  
  
_**Alicia McClellan**_: I hurried as much as I could, was it soon enough for you?  
  
_**chibi chidori16**_: Yep, Naruto's looks change just a smidge, but that's what you get when you perform a fusing technique, neh?  
  
_**Mimic12355**_: I love your comment about the fox demon being "cool in her own weird way." It made me feel warm and fuzzy, for unknown reasons. But then again, anything involving the fox demon makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  
  
_**Jenniyah**_: Did this chapter answer your question?  
  
_**Saiera**_: Well, here's the final chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it.   
  
_**ElizabethMarieRose**_: I don't think there will be a sequel… dunno why, but I hoped you liked the last chapter!  
  
_**someone**_: yeah, I made a the man characters female for a while… well Kyubi's still female. Thanks for reviewing!  
_  
**Notes From Kyuubi-chan:  
**  
_1. I don't understand why this always happens. The ending song on CDs seem to not collaborate with the endings of my chapters. Oh well, this was one of my favorite songs back in the day, so I shouldn't complain, but I'm not sure if it fits the chapter that well. Oh well.   
  
2. Sorry for having no Sakura revenge. Every time I went to write it, I had something distract me until I finally just gave up and forgot about it. Bah… sometimes I wish I hadn't, but that's okay.   
  
3. I'm done with this story. I can't say "finally done" because that involves at least a week of writing. This is done in four days. That has to be a world record for me. Ten chapters in four days. What the hell is the world coming to? _


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